)0 

B  PRINCETON,  N.  j.  *%• 

Presented    b^e         '        S.tWboT-O^At 
Division 


THE 


GENUINE    EPISTLES 


APOSTOLICAL  FATHERS, 

ST.  CLEMENT,  ST.  IGNATIUS, 

ST.  POLYCARP,        ST.  BARNABAS,  . 
THE  PASTOR  OF  HERMAS; 

AND      AN      ACCOUNT      OF      THE 

MARTYRDOMS  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS  AND  ST.  POLYCARP, 

WRITTEN    BY    THOSE    WHO    WERE    PRESENT   AT   THEIR    SUFFERINGS. 

BEING,  TOGETHER  WITH 

ftlje  $ol2  Scriptures  of  ttje  2tao  Testament, 

A  COMPLETE  COLLECTION  OF  THE  MOST  PRIMITIVE  ANTIQUITY 

FOR  ABOUT  A   HUNDRED   AND   FIFTY  YEARS  AFTER   CHRIST. 


TRANSLATED    AND    PUBLISHED, 

WITH 

PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSES, 

\Art  THE  MOST  REVEREND  FATHER  IN  GOD, 
\A/  O     f 
WILLIAM,,  LATE   LORD   ARCHBISHOP  OF   CANTERBURY. 

TV 


FROM  THE  SEVENTH  LONDON  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED   BY  AN  ASSOCIATION   OF  GENTLEMEN. 

AGENT,  Rev.  It.  DAVIS,  assisted  by  GEO.  W.  GORTON,  Esq. 

Office,  No.  56  North  Third  Street. 

STEREOTYPED  BY  L.  JOHNSON  AND  CO. — LIBRARY  EDITION. 

1846. 


GENUINE  REMAINS 

OF  THE 

APOSTOLICAL    FATHERS, 

fyc.  fyc. 


PART  I. 


IN    WHICH    ARE    COMPRISED 


I.  The  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians. 

II.  The  Epistle  of  St.  rojycarp  to  the  Philippians. 

HI.  The  Epistles  of  St.  Ignatius. 

IV.  A  Relation  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Ignatius. 

V.  A  Relation  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.'lPolycarp. 


PART  II. 

IN    WHICH    ARE    COMPRISED 

I.  The  Epistle  of  St.  Barnabas. 
II.  The  Shepherd  of  Hennas. 

AND 

III.  Part  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians, 


111 


THE 


ARCHBISHOP'S  PREFACE. 


Having,  in  the  second  edition*  of  "  The  Apostolical 
Fathers,"  so  far  improved  the  translation  I  before  published 
of  them,  as  to  render  it  almost  a  new  work,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary for  me  to  give  some  account  of  the  changes  that  have 
been  made  in  it,  and  what  advantages  I  have  had  for  the 
making  of  them. 

The  Epistles  of  St.  Clement  had  been  so  correctly  set 
forth  from  the  Alexandrian  manuscript,  by  the  learned  Mr. 
Patrick  Young,  that  having  no  other  copy  to  recur  to, 
there  are  no  considerable  alterations  to  be  expected  in  the 
present  edition  of  them.  And  yet,  even  in  these,  I  have  not 
only  carefully  reviewed  my  translation,  and  compared  it  with 
the  original  Greek,  and  corrected  whatsoever  I  thought  to 
be  less  exact  in  it,  but,  by  the  help  of  a  new  and  more  accu- 
rate collation  of  Mr.  Young's  copy,  with  that  venerable  MS. 
from  which  it  was  taken,  I  have  amended  some  places  in  the 
text  itself,  which  had  hitherto  escaped  all  the  editors  of  these 
epistles.  For  this  I  was  beholden  to  the  friendly  assistance 
of  the  very  learned  and  pious  Dr.  Grabe  ;  to  whose  ready 
help  these  Apostolical  Fathers  owe  a  great  part  of  that  ex- 
actness, with  which,  I  presume,  they  will  appear  in  this 
edition  of  them. 

*  The  present  is  a  reprint  from  the  seventh  edition. 


VI  PRFFA' 

The  Epistles  of  St.  Ignatius  having  been  lately  pub- 
lished at  Oxford,  by  our  Reverend  Dr.  Smith,  not  only 
with  a  much  greater  correctness  in  the  text  than  ever  thej 
were  before,  but  with  the  advantage  of  his  own  and  Bishop 
Pearson's  observations  upon  the  difficult  places  of  them,  it 
;annot  be  thought  but  ihat  I  must  have  very  much  improved 
my  translation  of  those  epistles,  from  the  learned  labour* 

■  such  eminent  masters  of  antiquity ;  and  who  had  taken 
such  Lri<at  care  not  only  to  restore  those  venerable  pieces 
to  their  primitive  purity,  but  to  render  them  clear  and  intel- 
ligible  to  the  meanest  capacity  b.  One  of  these  epistles  had 
never  been    set  forth  from   any  good  MS.   in  its   original 

k,  when  I  published  my  first  edition  of  them.     This. 

ther  with  the  martyrdom  of  that  blessed  saint,  has  since 
printed  by  Monsieur  Ruinard  at  Paris,  and  from 
thence  by  Dr.  CIimbe  at  Oxford.  I  have  compared  my 
translation  <>f  both  with  their  copy;  and  not  only  corrected 
it  where  it  disagreed  with  that,  but  have  noted  in  the  margin 
the  chief  variations  of  this  last  edition,  from  those  which  had 

:  published  by  Archbishop  Usher,  and  Isaac  Vossius 

re 

« )f  the  Epistle,  and  Martyrdom,  of  St.  Polycarp,  and 

the  EpMTLS  of  Barnabas,  I  have  little  to  say  more  than 

hat  I  have  revised  the  translation  of  them  with   all  the  care 

f  could,  and  rendered  it  much  more  correct  (especially  the 

Epistle  o\'  Barnabas)  than  it  was  before.    But  as  for  the 

if  HERMAS,  I    may    without  vanity   affirm,  that    the) 

not   only  more  exact   in    the  translation   than   they  were 

before,  but  that  the  \er  Ives  will  be  found  in 

ater  purity  in    this  than  in  any  other  edition  that  has  .via 

vet  been  published  of  them.  The  old  Latin  version  has  been 
entirely  collated  with  an  ancient  manuscript  of  it  in  the 
Lambeth  library;  and  from  thence  amended  in  more  places 
than  could  well  have  been  imagined.  And  that  very  version 
If  has  been  farther  improved  from  a  multitude  of  new 
incuts  of  the  original  ( Ireefc  never  before  i  bser  ed    and 


PREFACE.  Vll 

for  the  most  part  taken  out  of  the  late  magnificent  edition 
of  the  Works  of  St.  Athanasius  ;  though  that  piece  be  none 
of  his,  but  the  work  of  the  Younger  Athanasius,  patriarch 
of  the  same  church,  who  lived  about  the  seventh  century. 
[See  torn.  II.  p.  251,  Doctrin.  ad  Antioch.  Ducem.~]  Both 
these  advantages  I  do  likewise  owe  to  the  same  learned 
person"  I  before  mentioned  ;  who  not  only  purposely  collated 
the  one  for  me,  but  readily  communicated  to  me  the  extracts 
he  had  made  for  his  own  use  out  of  the  other. 

Having  said  thus  much  concerning  the  several  pieces 
themselves  here  set  forth,  and  the  translation  of  them,  I  shall 
not  trouble  the  reader  with  any  long  account  of  my  own 
introductory  discourse ;  in  which  I  have  added  some  things, 
and  corrected  others.  I  hope,  as  it  now  stands,  it  may  be 
of  some  use  to  those  who  have  not  any  better  opportunities 
of  being  acquainted  with  these  matters ;  and  convince  them 
of  the  just  regard  that  is  due  to  the  discourses  which  follow 
it,  upon  this  double  account,  both  that  they  were  (for  the 
most  part)  truly  written  by  those  whose  names  they  bear, 
and  that  those  writers  lived  so  near  the  apostolical  times, 
that  it  cannot  be  doubted  but  that  they  do  indeed  represent 
to  us  the  doctrine,  government,  and  discipline  of  the  church, 
as  they  received  it  from  the  apostles;  the  apostles  from 
Christ,  and  that  blessed  Spirit,  who  directed  them  both  in 
what  they  taught,  and  in  what  they  ordained. 

What  that  doctrine,  government,  and  discipline  is,  I  have 
particularly  shown  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  my  discourse. 
I  shall  only  observe  here,  that  it  is  so  exactly  agreeable  to 
the  present  doctrine,  government,  and  discipline  of  the 
church  of  England  by  law  established,  that  no  one  who 
allows  of  the  one  can  reasonably  make  any  exceptions  against 
the  other.  So  that  we  must  either  say,  that  the  immediate 
successors  of  the  apostles  had  departed  from  the  institutions 
of  those  holy  men  from  whom  they  received  their  instruction 


flDr.  Grabe. 


VU1  PREFA< 

in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  by  whom  they  were  converted 
to  the  faith  of  it;  or,  if  that  be  too  unreasonable  to  be  sup- 
posed of  such  excellent  persons,  who  not  only  lived  iii  book 
of  the  highest  stations  of  the  Christian  church,  but  the  most 
of  them  suffered  martyrdom  for  the  sake  of  it,  we  must  then 
conclude,  what  is  indeed  the  truth,  that  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, whereof  we  arc  members,  is,  both  in  its  doctrine, 
government,  discipline,  ami  worship,  truly  apostolical;  and 
in  all  respects  comes  the  nearest  up  to  the  primitive  pattern 
of  any  Christian  church  at  this  day  in  the  world. 


GENERAL  CONTENTS. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE   RELATING  TO  THE  SEVERAL 
TREATISES,  AND  THE  AUTHORS  OF  THEM. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PAGE 


Introduction 


CHAPTER  II. 

That  the  pieces  here  put  together  are  all  that  remain  of  the  most 

primitive  and  apostolical  antiquity 2 


CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  authority  of  the  following  Treatises ;  and  the  deference 

that  ought  to  be  paid  to  them  upon  the  account  of  it     .         .         14 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  the  subject  of  the  following  Discourses,  and  of  the  use  that  is  to 

be  made  of  them 23 


CHAPTER  V. 

Of  the  manner  after  which  these  Discourses  are  written,  and  the 

simplicity  of  style  used  in  them 30 

h 


CONTENTS. 


THE  FIRST  r  \in. 


Preliminary  Discourse  on  tli<                          of  St.  Clement  to  the 
Corinth:  

The  First  Epiflfl  !     '  lement  to  the  Corinthians.     ...         42 

I.  II.  He  oomroendi  them  fur  their  excellent  Order  and  Piety  ii   I  I  .rctheir 

Schism  hrake  (Hit. 

III.  II. iw  thai  Divisions  bt  gan. 

IV.  V.    VI.    E    -y  .iii.l  Emulation  the  Original  of  all   Strife  and  Disorder. 

plea  of  all  Mischiefs  they  have  occasioned. 

VII.  \  III.  II-  exhorts  them  to  look  up  t<>  the  Rules  of  their  Religion,   u. 
of  their  Divisions,  and  they  -hall  be  forg 

IX.   X.  To  encourage  them  whercunto  In    Beta  bt  fore  them  the  examples  . .t   H 6tj 
Men  vrhose  Piety  i-  recorded  in  the  Scriptures. 

\T.  XII.  And   particularly   such  ai  have   been  eminent  for   their   Hindi  • 
Charity  to  their  Neighbours. 

XIII.    What  Kul.-  OUT  Religion  has  left  us  to  this  purp 

VI  V.   X  V.    Which  he  applii  -  t.i  the  Case  "l"  the  Corinthians,  e\.hortinn  them  t..  pul 
an  and  tfl  tin  ir  Contentions  -.»  contrary  to  their  Duty. 

YVI.    W'll.  A  VIII.   In  order  to  this,  he  advises  them  to  be  humble  ;  and  that  from 
the  Examples  of  OUT  S;i\iuur,  and  of  holy  Men  in  all  Ages. 

XIX.  AX.  He  returns  to  the  Business  of  tin  ir  Divisions,  which,  by  more  Acu- 
men: idea  them  t.»  com] 

VXI.  II.  .in  t.>  Obedience,  from  the  consideration  of  the  Goodn« 

God,  and  of  hi    i  '  P  ice. 

\.\ll.  'XXlll.  \  \l\  .  01  Faith;  and  particularly  what  are  are  to  believe  as  totrs 
future  Resurrection. 

\  \\ .  to  XX  \  II.  Thii  Artiel.     •  red 

XX\lll.  II.        in  exhorts  the]  nee:  That  His  im] 

F  G  .ntiniie  iii  Sin. 

\\l\.  Tin-  farther  enforced  from  the  consideration  of  their  R<    lion  to  G 
Elect 

\  \  \    Ho*  are  ma  I  live  that  we  ma)  | 

\\\l.  \\\ll.  We  are  justified  by  Pahh. 

X  \  \  IN     \  .  •  ''.i    !;,i,  i  i.   ;  I.  -vu  nur  Can   to  live  will    nor  our  Pleasure  m  '.t 


CONTENTS.  xi 

XXXIV.  This  enforced  from  the  Examples  of  the  holy  Angels,  and  from  the  ex- 
ceeding greatness  of  that  Reward  which  God  has  prepared  for  us. 

XXXV.  XXXVI.  We  must  attain  unto  this  Reward  by  Faith  and  Obedience. 

XXXVII.  Which  we  must  carry  on  in  an  orderly  pursuing  of  the  Duties  of  our 
several  Stations,  without  Envying  or  Contentions. 

XXXVIII.  The  necessity  of  different  Orders  among  Men.  We  have  none  of  us 
any  thing  but  what  we  received  of  God :  whom,  therefore,  we  ought  in  every 
condition  thankfully  to  obey. 

XXXIX.  &c.  From  whence  he  exhorts  them  to  do  every  thing  orderly  in  the 
church,  as  the  only  way  to  please  God. 

XLII.  The  Orders  of  Ministers  in  Christ's  Church,  established  by  the  Apostles,  ac- 
cording to  Christ's  command. 

XLIII.  And  after  the  example  of  Moses. 

XLIV.  Therefore  they  who  have  been  duly  placed  in  the  Ministry,  according  to 
their  order,  cannot,  without  great  Sin,  be  put  out  of  it. 

XLV.  &c.  He  exhorts  them  to  Peace,  from  Examples  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

XL VII.  XL VIII.  Particularly  from  St.  Paul's  Exhortation  to  them. 

XLIX.  The  Value  which  God  puts  upon  Love  and  Unity :  The  Effects  of  a  true 
Charity. 

L.  Which  is  the  Gift  of  God,  and  must  be  obtained  by  Prayer. 

LI.  Ln.  He  exhorts  such  as  have  been  concerned  in  these  Divisions  to  repent,  and 
return  to  their  Unity,  confessing  their  Sin  to  God. 

LIII.  LIV.  Which  he  enforces  from  the  example  of  Moses. 

LV.  Nay,  of  many  among  the  Heathen ;  and  of  Judith  and  Esther  among  the 
Jews. 

LVI.  The  Benefit  of  mutual  Advice  and  Correction. 

IiVII.  He  entreats  them  to  follow  that  which  is  here  given  to  them. 

LVIII.  Recommends  them  to  God. 

LIX.  Desires  speedily  to  hear  that  this  epistle  has  had  a  good  Effect  upon  them. 

LX.  And  so  concludes. 

Preliminary  Discourse  on  the  Epistle  of  St.  Polycarp  to  the  Philip- 

Pians .69 

The  Epistle  of  St.  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians  ....         78 

Afteii  the  Salutation, 
I.  He  commends  the  Philippians  for  their  respect  to  those  who  suffered  for  the 
gospel,  and  for  their  own  faith  and  piety.     I. 


Xii  CONTENTS. 

2.  He  exhorts  them  to  continue  in  both  ;  and  that  particularly,  from  the  considera- 

tion of  the  resurrection  and  judgment  to  come.     II. 

For  their  better  accomplishing  whereof, 

3,  He   advises   them    to  caU   to  mind    tin-   doctrine  which   St.  Pir/L   had    taught 

them,  whilst  he  was  in  peroon  emoBg  them,  and  after  wrote  to  tbem  in  hi- 
eptstJe.    III. 

ODD  <>f  .ill  which  he  now  goes  on  particularly  to  them: 

I.  As  ro  TituTicAL  Duties. 
1.   Faith,  hope,  charity.     III. 

Igafawl  roTCtmianf     IV. 

3.  The  duties  of  hushands,  wives,  widows.     lb. 

4.  Of  deacons,  young  men,  virgins.     V. 

5.  01  VI. 

All  which  he  again  enforces  with  the  consideration  of  that  account  we  must  one  day 
give  to  God  of  all  our  actions. 

II.   As    ra    M  \ttf.hs  of   Faith. 

1.  What  we  are  to  believe  concerning  oar  Saviour  Christ,  his  nature,  and  suiTcr- 
VII. 
1  >f  the  future  resurrection  and  judgment.     lb. 

Which  being  thus  set  forth,  he  finally  exhorts  them, 

l.  To  prayer.     VII. 

nes.-  in  their  faith.      VIII. 

Enforced  from  the  examples  of  the  patience  ami  constancy 
i  M  our  Saviour  Christ.     lb. 
Ofh  ind  saints.      I.V. 

in  all  we!!-  | 

And  more  particularly  yet, from  the  miscarriage  of  VsJens,  who  hid  been  i  pi 

ter  anion-  them,  he  ezhofta  them, 
I.  To  beware  dI  \  I. 

Notl    be  1  men  persons,  either  in  then  ooneuret  of  thesj 

behavioni  towards  them.     I  lb 

H.    j  rtj  I  for  them,  and  then  exhorts  them, 

»..  To  pray  tor  all  others.     lb. 

Ami  having  time  done  with  what  was  mstrnctive  of  hi<  epistle,  he  atveHiaai  them 

"i  b  •  i.     \  ill. 

And  deain  at  of  him  from  them     \iv. 


CONTENTS.  Xiii 

And,  lastly,  he  recommends  Crescens,  by  whom  he  wrote  this  epistle,  together  with 
his  sister,  to  their  favour  and  assistance.     lb. 


Preliminary  Discourse  on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Ignatius     ...       83 

The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Ephesians        ....        92 

After  the  Salutation, 

I.  He  thanks  them  for  sending  Onesimus,  their  bishop,  to  him,  whom  he  greatly 

commends,  and  expresses  his  joy  to  receive  from  him  so  good  a  character  of 
them. 

II.  He  mentions  the  rest  of  their  members  who  were  sent  with  Onesimus  to  him, 

and  exhorts  them  to  unity,  by  a  due  subjection  to  their  bishops  and  presbyters. 

III.  He  excuses  the  liberty  he  takes  of  admonishing  them,  and  so  returns  to  his  ad- 

vice to  them ; 

IT.  Which  is  still  the  same ;  namely,  by  a  due  subjection  to  their  bishop,  to  pre- 
serve unity  among  themselves : 

V.  The  benefit  of  which  he  particularly  sets  out  to  them. 

VI.  That  they  ought  not  to  respect  their  bishop  the  less,  because  he  is  not  forward 
in  exacting  it  from  them  ;  but  should  rather  honour  him  the  more ;  which  he 
also  commends  them  for  doing. 

Vn.  He  warns  them  against  heretics ;  bidding  them  stick  to  their  Master,  Jesus 
Christ,  whose  divine  and  human  nature  he  declares  to  them. 

VIII.  IX.  He  commends  them  for  their  care  to  keep  themselves  from  false  teachers, 
and  shows  them  the  way  to  God. 

X.  He  exhorts  them  to  prayer,  and  to  behave  themselves  unblamably  towards  those 

that  are  without ; 

XI.  XII.  To  be  careful  of  their  salvation  ;  to  pray  for  himself,  whose  own  worth  he 
much  lessens  in  comparison  of  theirs  ;  especially, 

XIII.  XIV.  To  be  frequent  in  public  devotion :  to  live  in  unity,  in  faith  and  in  cha- 
rity: and 

XV.  To  show  forth  the  truth  of  their  profession  by  their  works : 

XVI.  XVII.  To  have  a  care  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  be  not  corrupted  : 

XVIII.  Upon  which  occasion  he  treats  particularly  of  the  three  great  mysteries  of 
Christianity,  viz.  the  virginity  of  Mary,  and  the  incarnation  and  death  of  Christ, 
which  he  says  were  hid  from  the  Devil. 

XIX.  How  the  birth  of  Christ  was,  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  revealed  to  the 
world. 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

XX.  XXI.  Of  all  which  be  promiara  to  write  mora  largely  in  a  second  epistle,  ami 
then  finally  undertake!  fol  their  eaWation,  if  tli»->  continual,  as  he  had  exhorted 
them,  to  pursue  it,  by  unity  among  llmnerilrra  and  piety  towards  God. 


The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  IfagnettanJ     ...  98 

\rn  it    ni    BAX.1  t  LTXOV,  ■■    Dl  I  I  LBXf, 

I.  The  occasion  of  Oil  writing  to  tin  ni,  and  to  the  otfaer  churches  that  were  about 

them  ;   and  then  mentions, 

II.  The   arrival  of  Damas,  their  bi.-hop   and  of  the   rest  whom  they  had   lent   unto 

him. 

III.  He  exhort-  them  to  all  due  reverence  and  subjection  to  their  bi-hop;  notwith 

Dding  hea  was  hut  a  young  man,  and  had   not  long  been  in  that  great  office 
among  them. 

IV.  Which  also  they  must  show  if  they  will  be  Christians  indeed. 

V.  That  we  must  all  die  in  a  little  time  ;  and  then  be  for  ever  cither  happy  01  mw 

rable. 

VI.  He  exhorts  them,  therefore  to  live  orderly,  and  to  maintain  a  unity  amon 

other. 

VII.  And  that  e-jH'cially  by  a  due  subjection  to  their  bishop  and  presbyters. 

VIII.  IV.  X.   Be  cautions  them  againel   false  opinion-,  especially  those  of  Ebion  s 
and  the  Judaizing  Christian-. 

XI.  He  apologizes  for  this  advice,  which  he  gave  not  to  reprove,  but  to  forewarn 
them. 

XII.  Whose  faith  and  piety  he  here  greatly  commends ;  and 

XIII.  Exhorts  them  to  go  on  and  increase  in  both. 

XIV.  Be  deem  -  their  prayers,  both  for  himself  and  his  church  at  Antioch. 

I  \  .  And  then  c dodea  ;jl  with  the  Balotatjona  of  thoae  who  were  present  win 

him  at  the  writing  of  thi-  epi.-tle. 


The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Tr;illi;uis  .  .  .  lCKi 

Tin   Bam  i  1 1  ion 

I.  He   acknowledge!  0M  Coming  of  their  bamop,  and  his  receipt  of  their  charity  !>% 

bun. 

II.  He  commend-    them    for   their    orderly  ■objection  to   their   bishop-,  priesta,  and 

mil  exhorta  them  to  continue  in  it. 


•Coteler.  in  be.  -on.  Vui.l.  I.;u.  pal,  li.  cap.   1. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

III.  He  enforces  the  same  exhortation,  commends  their  bishop,  and  excuses  his  not 

writing  more  fully  to  them  of  this  matter ; 

IV.  Which  he  does  not,  lest  he  should  seem  to  take  too  much  upon  him,  and  be 

too  much  exalted  in  his  own  conceit,  which  would  be  very  dangerous  to  him, 
who  is  afraid  even  of  his  over-great  desire  to  suffer,  lest  it  should  be  prejudicial 
to  him. 

V.  Another  reason  why  he  did  not  write  more  largely  to  them  was,  that  at  present 

they  were  not  able  to  bear  it. 

VI.  He  warns  them  against  heretics  who  poison  the  sound  word  of  Christ ;  and 

VII.  Exhorts  them,  by  humility  of  mind,  and  unity  with  the  church,  to  guard  them- 
selves against  them  : 

VIII.  And  this  he  does,  not  that  he  knows  of  any  present  need  they  had  of  his  ad- 
vice, but  to  prevent  any  mischief  from  falling  upon  them : 

DC.  To  which  end,  he  briefly  sets  before  them  the  true  doctrine  concerning  Christ ; 

X.  And  particularly  exposes  the  error  of  some,  who  taught  that  he  seemed  only  to 

die,  but  did  not  really  suffer. 

XI.  From  these  he  would  have  them  flee. 

XII.  He  returns  again  to  his  exhortation  of  them  to  unity ;  and  desires  their  prayers 
of  which  he  was  much  in  need ; 

XIII.  Which  also  he  begs  for  his  church  at  Antioch.     And  having  given  them  the 
.salutations  of  those  who  were  with  him,  and  once  more  exhorted  them  to  due 

submission  to  their  bishop,  &c,  he  concludes. 


The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Romans 106 

The  Salutation. 

I.  He  testifies  his  desire  to  come  unto  them ;  and  his  hopes  of  suffering  for  Christ 
unless  they  prevent  it, — 

n.  Which  he  earnestly  entreats  them  not  to  do ; 

III.  But  rather  to  pray  for  him,  that  God  would  strengthen  him  to  the  combat  unto 
which  he  had  called  him. 

IV.  He  expresses  the  great  desire  he  had  to  suffer  martyrdom, 

V.  VI.  And  the  mighty  advantage  it  would  be  to  him  so  to  do ; 

VII.  VIII.  And  therefore  again  entreats  them,  that  they  would  not  do  any  thing  to 
prevent  it. 

EX.  He  desires  their  prayers  for  his  church  at  Antioch  ;  and  expresses  the  kindnes^ 
of  the  Christians  to  him  on  his  way  to  them : 


xvi  CONTENTS 

A.  And  then  concludes,  with  his  n  itions  of  those  who  came  from 

with  him,  and  were  gone  befcn  to  Rome,  to  their  favourable  acceptance. 


In  the  Second  Edition  this  Epistle  was  compared  with  the  Greek  set  out  by  Dr.GnaBl 
in  his  Spicileg.  torn.  ii.  p.  18, 


The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Philadelphians  .         .         .110 

Tin:   B  \i -i  iv  now. 

I.  He  begins  with  a  very  great  commendation  of  their  bishop,  whom  they  had  sent 

unto  him. 

II.  He  warns  them  against  divisions;  and  exhorts  them  to  stick  close  to  their  bishop, 

ai  the  belt  means  t.>  avoid  falling  into  errors  and  false  doctrines; 

III.  IV.  Which  exhortation  he  again  enforces,  and  shows  them  the  danger  of  follow- 
ing any  per~"iis,  to  the  making  of  a  schism  in  the  church. 

V.  He  excuses  the  length  of  this  advice,  which  proceeded  from  his  love  towards  them  : 

r,  -  their  gravers  ;  and  shows  how  the  holy  men  under  the  law,  as  well   M 
since  under  the  gospel,  were  all  united  in  Christ  : 

VI.  Yet  this  must  not  prompt  them  to  receive  their  doctrine  who  would  tempt  them 

to  Judai/.e. 

VII.  He  declares  what  his  own  conduct  had  been  whilst  he  was  amongst  them  ; 

i 

VIII.  IV   And  exhorts  them,  after  his  example,  to  maintain  a  pure  doctrine,  in 

unity  with  one  another. 

A '..  lb  recounts  to  them  how  he  had  heard  that  the  persecution  was  stopped  in  his 
church  at  Antioch  ;  and  directs  them  to  send  some  messenger  thither  to  con- 
gratulate with  them  thereupon. 

A  I.  lb  tells  them  what  persons  were  still  with  him;  and  thanks  them  tor  the  kind 
enter!  unmenl  they  pave  to  6omc  of  them  :  and  so  concludes  with  the  common 
■flotation  ofthoi  at  at  his  writing  of  this  epistle  to  them. 

The  Episth-  of  St.  Ignatius  to  t lit-  Bmyrneans     .        .        .        .111 

Tin.    Svi.i  TATIOl 

I.  He  declares  the  j"\  he  had  t.>  hear  of  their  nrmneoi  in  'he  foepel :  the  substance 

ofwhkh,  ai t"  what  ooaeem  tin-  penon  of  Christ,  he  brieflj  .em: 

II.  And  thi  b  II  pretend  that  Christ  suffered  only  bo  show, and  not  really. 

Against  these, 

III.  He  assures  them  that  he  knew  Christ    was  a  true    man,  e\  en  alter   his  n 
tion  ;  and  d  to  his  disciples  of  his  beinn  such. 


CONTENTS.  XVii 

IV.  He  exhorts  them,  therefore,  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  those  heretics  whom  he 
here  opposes ;  nor  believes  that  he  would  suffer  so  much  for  the  faith  of  Christ, 
unless  he  were  very  sure  of  the  truth  of  it. 

V.  He  shows  them,  farther,  the  danger  of  the  doctrine  before  mentioned ;  and  how 

they  who  held  it  did,  in  effect,  deny  Christ. 

VI.  How  dangerous  this  is !  And  how  different  those  who  maintain  this  doctrine 
are,  in  all  other  respects,  from  the  church  of  Christ ! 

VII.  That  it  will,  therefore,  become  them  to  guard  themselves  against  such  persons. 

VIII.  To  this  end  he  exhorts  them  to  follow  their  bishop  and  pastors  ;  but  especially 
their  bishop. 

IX.  He  thanks  them  for  their  kindness  to  himself. 

X.  And  to  those  which  were  with  him,  which  God  will  reward. 

XI.  He  acquaints  them  with  the  ceasing  of  the  persecution  at  Antioch :  he  exhorts 
them  to  send  a  messenger  thither,  to  congratulate  with  them  on  this  occasion. 

XII.  He  concludes  with  his  own  salutation,  and  the  remembrance  of  those  that  were 
with  him,  to  them  all  in  general,  to  several  in  particular. 

The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  St.  Polycarp  .  .118 

The  Salutation. 

I.  He  blesses  God  for  the  firm  establishment  of  Polycarp  in  all  piety,  and  gives  him 

many  particular  directions  for  his  improvement  in  it. 

II.  But  especially  with  relation  to  the  church  over  which  he  was  bishop. 
HI.  IV.  He  continues  his  advice  to  him ;  and 

V.  Teaches  him  what  advice  he  should  give  to  others : 

VI.  In  which  he  continues ;  and  especially  enforces  unity  among  themselves,  and 
subjection  to  their  bishop. 

VII.  He  recounts  to  Polycarp  the  peace  of  his  church  in  Syria :  and  directs  him 
to  appoint  some  messenger  to  go  to  Antioch  to  rejoice  with  them  on  that 
occasion. 

VIII.  He  desires  Polycarp  to  write  to  the  same  effect  to  the  neighbouring  churches, 
which  he  had  not  himself  time  to  do ; 

And  then  concludes  all  with  his  salutation  both  to  Polycarp  and  to  several  of  the 
church  of  Smyrna,  by  name. 

Preliminary  Discourse  on  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Ignatius,  written  by  those 
who  were  present  at  his  sufferings 121 

A  Relation  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Ignatius        ....       128 

Preliminary  Discourse  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Polycarp,  and  of  the 
Epistle  written  by  the  Church  of  Smyrna  concerning  it  .         .       133 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

Circular  Epistle  of  the  Church  of  Smyrna,  concerning  the  Martyrdom  of 
St.  Polycarp 140 


THE   SECOND  PART. 

Preliminary  Discourse  of  the  Catholic  Epistle  of  St.  Barnabas       .       146 

The  Catholic  Epistle  of  St.  Barnabas 161 

I.  The  salutation  and  preface  to  the  following  epistle. 

n.  III.  That  God  has  abolished  the  legal  sacrifice,  to  introduce  the  spiritual  right- 
eousness of  the  GospcL 

IV.  The  prophecies  of  Daniel  concerning  the  ten  kings,  and  the  coming  of  Christ. 

V.  VI.  That  Christ  was  to  suffer  proved  from  the  prophecies  concerning  him. 

VII.  The  scape-goat  an  evident  type  of  this. 

VIII.  The  red  heifer  another  type  of  Christ 

IX.  Of  the  circumcision  of  the  cars ;  and  how,  in  the  first  institution  of  circum- 
cision, Abraham  mystically  foretold  Christ  by  name. 

X.  That  the  commands  of  Moses,  concerning  clean  and  unclean  beasts,  &c,  were 

all  designed  for  a  spiritual  signification. 

XI.  XII.  DtptMPI  ami  the  cross  of  Christ  foretold  in  figures  under  the  law. 
XIII.  The  promise  of  God  not  made  to  the  Jews  only,  but  to  the  Gentiles  also. 
VIV.  And  fulfilled  to  us  hy  Jesus  Christ. 

XV.  That  the  Sabhath  of  the  Jews  was  but  the  figure  of  a  more  glorious  Sabbath 
to  come — 

XVI.  Their  temple  of  the  spiritual  temples  of  God. 

X  VII.  The  conclusion  of  the  former  part  of  this  epistle. 

|  \  III.  If,  <*  on  to  the  other  part,  which  relates  to  practice  :  this  he  divides  into 
two  considerations;  tli« ■  former  uf  the  way  of  light;  the  latter  of  the  way  of 
darkneM. 

X  I X.  <  >f  the  way  of  light ;  being  a  summary  of  what  a  Christian  is  to  do,  that  he 
iiinv  }><■  happy  for <v.r. 

|  V.    Of  the  w;iv  of  darkness;   tliat   is,  what  kind  of  persons  shall  be  for  ever  ca*t 

out  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

I  \  I.  The  clow  of  all  ;  being  an  earnest  exhortation  H  them  to  live  so  that  ihej 
may  be  blessed  to  all  eternity. 

Preliminary  Discourse  en  the  Shepherd  of  St.  Hennas  J  and  on  the  Second 
Epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians       .  .  .  .^88 


CONTENTS.  Xix 

The  First  Book  of  St.  Hermas,  which  is  called  his  Visions  .  191 

Vision 

I.  Against  filthy  and  proud  thoughts ;  also  the  neglect  of  Hermas  in  chastising 

his  children. 

II.  Again,  of  his  neglect  in  correcting  his  talkative  wife  and  his  lewd  sons. 

III.  Of  the  building  of  the  church  triumphant ;  and  of  the  several  orders  of  repro- 
bates. 

IV.  Of  the  trial  and  tribulation  that  is  about  to  come  upon  men. 

The  Second  Book  of  St.  Hermas,  which  is  called  his  Commands       207 

AX    INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    FOLLOWING    COMMANDS. 

Command 

I.  Of  believing  in  one  God. 

II.  That  we  must  avoid  detraction,  and  do  our  alms-deeds  with  simplicity. 

III.  Of  avoiding  lying :  and  the  repentance  of  Hermas  for  his  dissimulation. 

IV.  Of  putting  away  one's  wife  for  adultery. 

V.  Of  the  sadness  of  the  heart,  and  of  patience. 

VI.  That  every  man  has  two  angels ;  and  of  the  suggestions  of  both. 

VII.  That  we  must  fear  God,  but  not  the  devil. 
VILT.  That  we  must  flee  from  evil,  and  do  good. 

IX.  That  we  must  ask  of  God  daily,  and  without  doubting. 

X.  Of  the  sadness  of  the  heart ;  and  that  we  must  take  heed  not  to  grieve  the  Spirit 

of  God  that  is  in  us. 

XI.  That  the  spirits  and  prophets  are  to  be  tried  by  their  works ;  and  of  a  two-fold 
spirit 

XII.  Of  a  two-fold  desire :  that  the  commands  of  God  are  not  impossible ;  and  that 
the  devil  is  not  to  be  feared  by  them  that  believe. 

The  Third  Book  of  St.  Hermas,  which  is  called  his  Similitudes  .       226 

Similitude 

I.  That  seeing  we  have  no  abiding  city  in  this  world,  we  ought  to  look  after  that 

which  is  to  come. 

II.  As  the  vine  is  supported  by  the  elm,  so  is  the  rich  man  helped  by  the  prayers  of 

the  poor. 

III.  As  the  green  trees  in  winter  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  dry ;  so  neither 
can  the  righteous  from  the  wicked  in  this  present  world. 


CONTENTS. 

IV.  As  in  the  summer  the  Ii\.  ■  distinguished  from  the  dry  by  their  fruit 
and  -jr.  in  Ir.ivis  ;  ko  in  the  world  to  come,  the  righteous  shall  be  distinguished 
from  the  UlrighteoUl  by  the  ir  hap; 

V.  Of  a  true  fa-t,and  the  reward  of  it;  iIm  of  the  cleanness  of  the  body. 

VI.  Of  two  sorts  of  voluptuous  men;  and  of  their  death,  defection,  and  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  their  | 

VII.  That  they  who  repent,  must  bring  forth  fruits  worthy  of  repentance. 

VIII.  That  tli.  re  are  many  Kinds  of  elect  and  of  repenting  sinner.-:  and  how  all  of 
them  ihaD  r.v.  i\e  a  reward  proportionable  to  the  measure  of  their  repentance 
and  good  w 

IX.  The  grade*  mysteries  of  the  militant  and  triumphant  church  which  is  to  be 
built 

X.  Of  repentance  and  alms-deeds. 


The  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the.  Corinthians  .         .       270 

I.  That  we  ought  to  entertain  a  worthy  opinion  of  our  salvation,  and  to  do  the  ut- 

most that  in  us  lies  to  express  the  value  we  put  upon  it,  by  a  sincere  obedience 
to  our  Saviour  Christ  and  his  gospel. 

II.  That  God  had  before  prophesied  by  Isaiah  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  saved. 

III.  IV.  That  this  ought  to  engage  such  especially  to  be  very  careful  to  live  well, 

without  which  they  will  still  miscarry. 

V.  That  whilst  we  secure  to  ourselves  the  favour  of  God,  and  the  reward  of  the  other 

world,  we  need  not  fear  what  can  befal  us  in  this. 

VI.  That  wc  cannot  rod  Mammon ;  nor,  if  we  follow  the  interests  of  this 

nt  world,  is  it  possible  for  us  to  escape  the  punishment  of  the  other. 

Nil.  The  consideration  of  which  ought  to  bring  us  to  repentance  and  holiness. 

VIII.   And  that  presently;  Knowing  that  now,  whilst  we   are  in  this  world,  is  the 
only  tunc  tor  n  |  | 

!\.    \\  ,    J.  ,'|  ,,  ,  .  and  l«  judged  in  those  bodies  in  which  wo  now  arc;  therefore 
we  maft  live  well  in  them. 

\     'I'd  it  we   OOght|  M  m    value  our  own  interest-,  to   li\r  w.  li.  huvcvi  r  few 
to  mind  what  really  i.-  far  their  a. Ivan!.. 

XI.  And  not  to  deeehre  ovnetai  with  any  vain  imaginatione,  us  if  no  punishment 

should  remain  far  u>  who  do  Otfl,  Off  good  happen    unto  qj  hereafter,  if  v 
Owe    MS  Q     I  trill   certainly  jodft    u>   and 

randex  to  all  of  01  ICCOrding  tO  our  works;  and  how  soon   this  may  be  * 
DOM  Of  ns  tell. 

General  Im-i  \        ........       896 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 


RELATING   TO 


THE  SEVERAL  TREATISES  HEREIN   CONTAINED, 


THE  AUTHORS  OF  THEM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1.  Had  I  designed  the  following  collection  either  for  the  benefit  or 
perusal  of  the  learned  world,  I  should  have  needed  to  say  but  very 
little  by  way  of  introduction  to  it,  the  editors  of  the  several  treatises 
here  put  together  having  already  observed  so  much  upon  each  of  them 
that  it  would,  I  believe,  be  difficult  to  discover — I  am  sure  would  be 
very  needless  to  trouble  the  reader  with — any  more. 

2.  But,  as  it  would  be  ridiculous  for  me  to  pretend  to  have  designed 
a  translation  for  those  who  are  able  with  much  more  profit  and  satis- 
faction to  go  to  the  originals,  so,  being  now  to  address  myself  to  those 
especially  wTho  want  that  ability,  I  suppose  it  may  not  be  amiss,  before 
I  lead  them  to  the  discourses  themselves,  to  give  them  some  account 
both  of  the  authors  of  the  several  pieces  I  have  here  collected,  and  of 
the  tracts  themselves,  and  of  that  collection  that  is  now  the  first  time 
made  of  them  in  our  own  tongue ;  though,  as  to  the  first  of  these,  I 
shall  say  the  less  by  reason  of  that  excellent  account  that  has  been 
already  given  of  the  most  of  them  by  our  pious  and  learned  Dr.  Cave, 
whose  Lives  of  the  Apostles  and  Primitive  Fathers,  with  his  other 
admirable  discourse  on  Primitive  Christianity,  I  could  heartily  wish 
were  in  the  hands  of  all  the  more  judicious  part  of  our  English  readers. 

3.  Nor  may  such  an  account  as  I  now  propose  to  myself  to  give  of 
the  following  pieces  be  altogether  useless  to  some  even  of  the  learned 
themselves,  who,  wanting  either  the  opportunity  of  collecting  the 
several  authors  necessary  for  such  a  search,  or  leisure  to  examine 
them,  may  not  be  unwilling  to  see  that  faithfully  brought  together, 
under  one  short  and  general  view,  which  would  have  required  some 
time  and  labour  to  have  searched  out,  as  it  lay  diffused  in  a  multitude 
of  writers,  out  of  which  they  must  otherwise  have  gathered  it. 

1  A  1 


PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THAT   Tin;    PIECES    HERE    PUT    TOGETHER    ARE    ALL   THAT  REMAIN"   OF 
THE   MOST    i-KiMiim:   and    APOSTOLICAL   ANTIQUITY. 

Thai  then    .  reteoded  to  have  been  mitten  within  the  com- 

pos of  this  period"  ;   hut    none   eud)    M   trwl\  coin.'  up   t . »  it — Of  the    Episttfl   of  our 

Sevionr  Christ  to  Abganu,  and  the  occasion  of  it — The!  it  u  not  probable  thai  my 
such  Letter  was  written  by  him — The  Bpistlee  ascribed  to  the  Virgin  Mary  ipurioue, 
-  the  Epistle  pretended  to  have  been  mitten  by  8t.  Patilto  the  Laodiceans — Of 
the  Acta,  the  Gospel,  the  Pleaching,  and  Revelations  of  fl  •  1  i  — Of  the  Liturgy 
attributed  to  St.  Matthew,  and  the  Discourse  said  to  hsjfe  been  written  by  him  con- 
cerning  tin-  Nativity  of  the  Biased  Virgin — Of  the  Litorgiee  sscribed  to  fl  .  1 

!  St.  James — Of  the  Gospeli  sttribated  to  several  of  the  Apostles — Of  the 

'.  and    the  Canons  called    Apostolical — Of  the  Other    pieces  umler    the 

namee  •  ■;    s.  I  Yemeni  and  St.  Ignatius,    and  particularly  of  the  Recogniooi 
EpitoBM  of  Clement — Of  the  Historj  of  the  Life,  Miracles,  and  Assumption  of  St. 
/ban,  pretended  to  ha\e  been  written  by  Prochorus,  one  of  the  seven  Deacons — Of  the 
Histories  •  and  >'/•  Paul,  ascribed  to  Linus,  bishop  of  Rome — 01"  the  Lives 

of  the  Apostles,  sttribated  to  jfbdias,  bishop  of  Babylon — ( H  the  Epistles  of  S  .  Martial 
— of  the  Passion  of  A.  Andrew,  written  bj  the  Presbyteri  of  Achaia — Of  the  Wcfki 
escribed  to  Dionyrms  the  Areopagite — That,  upon  the  whole,  the  pieces  here  put 
together  an  ail  that  remain  of  the   apostolical    times,  after  the    Books  of  the   Holy 

Scripfane. 

1.  Havon*  said  thus  much  concerning  the  several  pieces  here  put 
ber,  ami  the  authors  of  them,*  it  is  time  to  go  on  to  the  other  part 

of  tltis  discourse,  and  consider  what  may  be  fit  to  be  observed  con- 
oerning  them  all  together,  as  they  are  now  set  forth  in  our  language, 
in  the  following  collection. 

2,  Now  the  first  thing  that  may  be  fit  to  be  taken  notice  of  is,  that 
the  following  collection  is  truly  what  the  title  pretends  it  to  be,  a  lull 
and  perfect  collection  of  all  the  genuine  writings  that  remain  to  us  of 
the„  apostolical  fathers, — and  carries  on  the  antiquity  of  the  church, 
from  the  time  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament,  to   about 

a  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Christ. 

.'}.  To  make  this  the  more  evident,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to 
consider  what  those  other  writings  are  which  some  have  endeavoured 
to  raise  up  into  the  rank  of  apostolical  antiquity,  and  to  show  that  they 

are  indeed  writings  either  of  no  credit  nor  authority  at  all,  or,  at  least, 
not  of  sueli   as   thei  are  falsely  pretended   to  lie.       And,  to    the   end  I 

may  proceed  the  more  clear!}  in  this  inquiry,  I  will  divide  the  several 
now  to  be  examined  into  the  three  following  ranks-.  The  first,  oi  those 

which  are  antecedent  to  any  I  h.ive  here  i  ollected  ;   as  being  pretended 

tve  been  written  either  l>v  our  Saviour  Christ  himself,  or  b] 
Virgin  Man,  or  bj  the  apostles.     The  second,  of  such  other  trai 

Ifae  preliminary  d  I  to  uV    n    i 

;  icb  thev  t>. 


TREATISES   FALSELY    CALLED    APOSTOLICAL.  3 

are  ascribed  to  some  of  those  fathers  whose  genuine  remains  I  have 
here  put  together.  And  the  third,  of  such  pieces  as  are  said  to  have 
been  written  by  some  other  authors  who  lived  in  the  apostolical  times, 
and  wrote,  if  we  will  believe  some  men,  several  books  much  more 
considerable  than  any  I  have  here  collected. 

4.  Of  the  first  of  these  kinds  is  that  pretended  letter  of  our  Blessed 
Saviour  to  Abgarus  king  of  Edessa,  a  little  city  of  Arabia,"  a  part  of 
which  country  was  subject  to  him.     Now  this  may  seem  to  be  of  so 
much  the  better  credit,  in  that  Eusebius"  tells  us  he  had  himself  faith- 
fully translated  it  out  of  the  Syriac  language,  as  he  found  it  in  the 
Archives  of  Edessa.     Nor  was  it  very  long  after  that  Ephrsem,0  a 
deacon  of  that  church,  made  mention  of  this  communication  between 
our  Saviour  and  Abgarus,  as  the  occasion  of  the  first  conversion  of 
that  place ;  and  exhorted  his  people  upon  that  account,  the  rather  to 
hold  fast  to  their  holy  profession,  and  to  live  worthy  of  it.     Evagrius,4 
who  wrote  about  two  hundred  years  after  this,  not  only  confirmed  all 
that  had  been  said  by  both  these,  but  added  from  Procopius  several 
other  circumstances,  unknown,  for  aught  that  appears,  to  either  of 
them  ;  particularly  that  of  the  impression  which  our  Saviour  had  made 
of  his  face  upon  a  napkin,  and  sent  to  that  prince,  which  he  tells  us 
was  of  no  small  advantage  to  them  in  the  defence  of  their  town  against 
Chosroes,  king  of  Persia,  who,  by  this  means,  was  hindered  from  tak- 
ing it.     How  this  circumstance  came  to  be  added  to  this  relation,  or 
by  whom  it  was  first  invented,  I  cannot  tell.     But  that  both  the  inter- 
course reported  by  Eusebius*  between  our  Saviour  and  this  Prince, 
and  the  report  of  this  picture  being  brought  to  him,  have  been  received 
as  a  matter  of  unquestionable  truth  in  those  parts,  the  authority  of 
Gregorius  Abulpharjus*  will  not  suffer  us  to  doubt,  who  in  his  history, 
published  by  our  learned  Dr.  Pococke,  both  recites  the  letters,  and 
records  the  story  in  terms  very  little   different  from  what  the  Greek 
writers  before  mentioned  have  done. 

5.  And  now  since  the  addition  of  this  new  circumstance  to  the  old 
account  of  this  matter,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  if  the  patrons  of  images 
among  the  Greeks,  from  henceforth,  contended  with  all  earnestness  for 
the  truth  of  both,  insomuch  that  we  find  they  instituted  a  particular 
festival  in  memory  of  it,  August  the  16th,  and  transcribed  at  large  the 
whole  history  of  this  adventure  into  their  Menaeon,  and  recited  it 
upon  it. 

6.  It  is,  I  suppose,  upon  the  same  account  that  some  of  our  'ate 
authors,  though  they  do  not  care  to  assert  the  truth  of  this  story,  are  yet 

«  Vid.  Annot.  Valcsii  in  Euseb.  pp.  18,  19.         ''Hist.  Ei-cles.  lib.  i.  c.  13.         c  L'cs- 
tam.  S.  Epbnem.  inter  Oper.  p.  788.         d  Evagrii  Hist.  Ewlrs.  lib.  iv.  cap.  27.         *  Ec- 
desiastical  History,  translated  by  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Cruse,  A.  M.  8vo.     Bags.'?r,  London* 
Hist.  Dynast.  Lat.  p.  71,  72. 


4  PRELIMINARY    DISCOTOSE. 

unwilling  to  deny  all  credit  to  it.  Baroniuv  reports  botb  the  relation 
and  the  epistle  from  EusebhlSj  but  will  Dot  answer  tor  the  truth  of 
either.  Spondanus*  delivers  the  same  from  the  cardinal  that  he  had 
done  from  Eusehius,  and  passes  DO  censure  either  one  way  or  other 
upon  it  ;  only  in  bis  margin  he  observes  that  Gretser  the  Jesuit,  in  his 
Discourse  of  [mages,  ^Vc,  had  vindicated  the  authority  of  our  Saviour's 
epistle  to  Abgarus  from  the  exceptions  of  Casaubon,  in  his  Exercita- 
t i <  1 1 1 >  upon  Baronius,  against  it.  Gerard  Vossius,'  in  his  Scholia  upon 
the  Testamenl  of  St.  Ephraem,  contents  himself  t<>  refer  us  to  tlie  au- 
thoritv  .if  the  ancients  for  the  truth  of  this  relation,  who  he  pretends 
did,  without  controversy,  look  upon  it  to  be  authentic.  And  Yelrsius-' 
himself,  though  he  plainly  enough  shows  that  he  was  not  out  of  all 
doubt  concerning  the  truth  of  this  story,  yet  neither  does  he  utterly 
•  it,  hut  rather  endeavours  to  rectify  those  errors  that  seemed  the 
most  considerable  in  it. 

7.  Hut  others,  even  of  the  church  of  Rome,  have  not  observed  so 
much  caution  in  this  particular.  They  roundly  stand  by  the  censure 
of  Pope  Gelasius,'  who  pronounced  this  epistle  of  our  Saviour's  to  be 
apocryphal,  and  not  only  show  by  many  probable  arguments  the  false- 

f  it,  but,  what  is  yet  more,  pass  the  same  censure  upon  the  sb 
the  image  too  that  Casaubon7 had  done,  notwithstanding  all  that  (I 

old   say  in  favour  of  it.      Natalia  Alexander'  delivers  this  con- 
clusion  concerning  it:  «  The   Epistle  of  Abgarus  to  our  Saviour,  and 
iswer  to  it,  are  supposititious  and  apocryphal  ;"  and  at  large  an- 
al] that  is  usually  urged  in  favour  of  them.     And  I)u  Pin*  after 
him,  yet  more  solidly  convinces  it  of  such  manifest  errors  as  may 
to  satisfy  all  considering  persons  that  Kusebius  and  Ephraem 
were  too  easy  of  belief  in  this  particular,  and  did  not  sufficiently  ex- 
amine  into  it  when  they   delivered  that  as  a  certain  truth  which  from 
.1  circumstances  appears  to  have  been  evidently  otherwi    . 

8.  I  shall   not   need  to  say  any  thing  of  the  opinions  (^  the  learned 
f  the1  reformed  religion  as  to  this  matter,  who  generally  agree 

in  the  same  censure.     But  yet,  seeing  both  Eusebius  and  St.  Ephraem 
1  ken  with  such  confidence  <'i'  this  story,  whose  authority  ought 

be  lightly  esteemed,  1  shall  choOS€  rather,  with  the  middle  I 

to  leave  H  to  ever]  one  t<>  judge  as  he  ;  .  than  determine  any 

thing  in  this  case.      And,  that  the)   may  the  better  do  it,  I  will  subjoin 

at  length  the  fa     E  as  thej  are  rendered  by  Eusebius  from  the 

a  Aimal.  Bed  inn.  txxl  hum;.  80. 

Annot  :i  I  Oper.  Ephnm.  Byr.  p.  Innot  in  Buaeh. 

'Apod  (ir.iti.m.  Dit.  xt.  c.  c  Bimoi  I      .da  N.  T.  chap.  iii.  p.  3&        '  E 

SccaL  »oL  i.  | .  uvefle  Hi!!.  voL  i.  p.  1. 

•  \'ii!.  spud  Biiifthmi  Bxercit   Hi-'.  Crlt  i      :  . !  inn.  zliiL  nam. 

I 

p.  ti-l-  l>.  1.  i:i  .!.  Ki  ("hri-to. 


TREATISES    FALSELY    CALLED    APOSTOLICAL.  5 

original  Syriac  into   Greek,  and  from  him  translated  into  our  own 
tongue. 

The  Epistle  of  Abgarus  to  our  Blessed  Saviour. 

9.  «  Abgarus,  prince  of  Edessa,  to  Jesus  the  good  Saviour,  who 
has  appeared  in  the  country  about  Jerusalem,  health.  I  have  received 
an  account  of  thee  and  thy  cures,  how  without  any  medicines  or  herbs 
they  are  done  by  thee.  For  report  says  that  thou  makest  the  blind  to 
see,  the  lame  to  walk ;  that  thou  cleansest  the  lepers,  and  castest  out 
unclean  spirits  and  devils,  and  healest  those  who  have  laboured  under 
long  diseases,  and  raisest  up  the  dead.  And  having  heard  all  this 
concerning  thee,  I  have  concluded  with  myself  one  of  these  two  things ; 
either  that  thou  art  God,  and  that,  being  come  down  from  heaven, 
thou  doest  all  these  mighty  works,  or  that  thou  art  the  Son  of  God, 
seeing  thou  art  able  to  perform  such  things.  Wherefore  by  this  pre- 
sent letter  I  entreat  thee  to  come  unto  me,  and  to  cure  me  of  the  infir- 
mity that  lies  upon  me.  For  I  have  also  heard  that  the  Jews  murmur 
against  thee,  and  seek  to  do  thee  mischief.  For  I  have  a  small  but  fair 
<ity,  which  may  be  sufficient  both  for  thee  and  me." 

The  Answer  of  our  Saviour  to  Abgarus. 

10.  "Abgarus,  thou  art  blessed,  in  that  though  thou  hast  not  seen 
me  thou  hast  yet  believed  in  me.  For  it  is  written  concerning  me  that 
those  who  have  seen  me  should  not  believe  in  me  ;  that  so  they  who 
have  not  seen  me  might  believe  and  live.  As  for  what  thou  hast  writ- 
ten unto  me  that  I  should  come  to  thee,  it  is  necessary  that  all  those 
things  for  which  I  was  sent  should  be  fulfilled  by  me  in  this  place,  and 
that  having  fulfilled  them  I  should  be  received  up  to  him  that  sent  me. 
When  therefore  I  shall  be  received  into  heaven,  I  will  send  unto  thee 
some  one  of  my  disciples,  who  shall  both  heal  thy  distemper,  and  give 
life  to  thee  and  to  those  that  are  with  me." 

11.  Having  said  thus  much  concerning  this  pretended  intercourse 
between  our  Saviour  Christ  and  this  prince,  I  should  in  the  next  place 
mention  the  letters  ascribed  to  his  mother,  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
but  that  there  is  not  the  least  shadow  of  truth  to  give  credit  to  them, 
nor  any  arguments  brought  in  favour  of  them  that  may  deserve  a  refu- 
tation. I  shall  therefore  say  nothing  to  these,  but  pass  on  without  any 
more  ado  to  those  pieces  which  have  been  attributed  either  to  some 
particular  apostle  or  evangelist,  or  else  are  pretended  to  have  been 
composed  by  the  whole  college  of  the  apostles  together. 

12.  Of  the  former  kind  is  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Laodiceans, 
set  out  by  Hutter  in  his  Polyglott  New  Testament,  and  inserted  by 
Sixtus  Senensis0  into  his  Bibliotheque,  together  with  the  other  epistles 

■Bibl.  Sanct.  lib.  ii.  in  Paulo.  Add.  Frassenium  Disq.  Biblic.  p.  731,  Ac 

a2 


6  PRELIMINARY   DISCOURm: 

that  are  in  like  manner  pretended,  though  without  any  just  ground,  to 
have  passed  between  the  same  apostle  and  Seneca  the  philosopher. 
Now  that  which  gave  occasion  to  the  forging  of  Mich  an  epistle  was, 

that  St.  Paul  hims.-lf  seemfl  1"  Bpeal  ColoSS.  IV.  16)  a8  if  he  had  writ- 
ten ..i!  episde  to  that  church.  Fox  having  commanded  the  Colossians, 
when  they  should  bave  read  the  epistle  which  he  wrote  to  thru,. 
cause  it  to  be  read  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans,"  be  ad  Is,  that 
"  they  likewise  should  read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea."  But  not  to 
mention  that  St.  Paul's  words  may  be  understood  of  an  episde  written 
from  Laodicea,'  (as  Theophylact*  thinks  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 

which,  nevertheless,  I  suppose,  was  written  after  that  to  the  Colossi 

Or  of  8J0  epistle  written  by  the  apostle  to  some  other  church,  hut  ordered 

to  be  communicated  to  the  Laodiceans,  as  the  Second  Epistle  to  the 

Corinthians  was  directed  not  only  to  that  one  place,  but  to  all  the 
churches  of  Achaia,  (2  Cor.  i.  4,)  and  as  in  the  very  passage  under 
debate,  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  is  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  Laodi- 
ceans, and  to  be  read  in  the  church  there  ; — I  say,  not  to  insist  upon 

explications,  there  are  reasons  sullicient  to  induce  one  to  believe 
that  the  Lpistle  to  the  Ephesians,  as  it  now  is,  and  was  very  eat' 
titled,  was  originally  inscribed  to  the  Laodiceans:   this  at  least  is  sure, 
that    it  is  so    called   by    Marcion,  who,  though  a   rank  heretic,    and 

red  by  Teriullian  as  a  falsifier  of  the  title  of  an  apostolical  epistle,'" 
yet  in  a  matter  of  this  nature  may  be  admitted  to   give  his  evidence, 

ially  considering  that  he  lived  within  thl  r  this 

epistle  was  written. 

13.   But  to  suppose  that  this  epistle  was  primarily  written  to  the 
I.  as,  yet  this   does    not   hinder  but   that  St.   Paul   might  have 

ordered  it  to  be  communicated,  as  to  other  churches,  so  in  particular 
to  that  of  Laodicea,  and  from  iheiice  to  be  sent  on  to  the  Colossians, 
which,  as  I  have  before  observed,  will  sufficiently  answer  all  that  can 

ilected  from  the  passage  produced  out  of  his  epistle  to  them. 

that  which  favours  this  conjecture  is,  tint    Lphesiis  was  in 
da\s  looked  upon,  e\  en  in  the  civil  account  of  the  empire,  as  the  chief 

ad  metropolis  of  the  Lesser  Asia.     Here  it  was  that  the  empe- 

■vv(\  their  edicts  relating   to  that   province  to  be  publish- 
like  ni.miK  r  as  we  fmd  in  several    laws  «  f  the  Theodosian  rodcy  that 
the)  were  wont  to  be  proposed  at  Rome  for  Italy,  and  at  Carthag 
Africa.     Here  the  common  councils  of  Africa  assembled,  and,  to  name 

no  n,  '   die  public  spoils  and  SBCTed  rites,  fcc,  that  cone. 

the  whole  community  of  tint  pro\  ince,  were  usual!)  transacted.     1  i 


i  and  Theodoret        *  Theophylact.  in  loo.        •Of  I  Mill'- 

II    •.  lib.  is.  c.  13, 
.  60,  A.        /  \  id.  <  Hm, 


TREATISES  FALSELY  CALLED  APOSTOLICAL.       7 

St.  Chrysostom0  calls  it,  in  express  terms,  "the  metropolis  of  Asia;" 
and  in  the  order"  of  the  metropolitan  churches  it  is  accordingly  styled 
the  first  and  most  honourable  of  Asia. 

14.  And  much  greater  was  the  respect  which  it  had  with  relation  to 
ecclesiastical  matters,  both  as  it  was  a  church  founded  by  St.  Paul,c 
and  as  it  was  the  seat  of  the  beloved  disciple  St.  John,  who  continued 
there  to  the  very  time  of  Trajan,  above  one  hundred  years  after  Christ. 
Hence  Tertulliani — directing  those  who  were  desirous  to  know  what 
the  true  faith  of  Christ  was,  to  inquire  among  the  chiefest  churches  in 
every  part  what  had  been  delivered  to  them,  and  was  the  faith  received 
and  taught  amongst  them — bids  them,  if  they  were  in  Italy,  go  to 
Rome ;  if  in  Achaia,  to  Corinth ;  if  in  Macedonia,  to  Philippi ;  if  in 
Asia,  to  Ephesus :  insomuch  that,  as  Evagrius"  tells  us,  the  bishop  of 
Ephesus  had  a  patriarchal  power  within  the  diocese  of  Asia  till  the 
time  of  the  fourth  general  council.  And,  long  after  that,  Theodorus, 
bishop  of  this  see,  subscribing  to  the  acts  of  the  sixth  general  council, 
calls  himself  bishop  of  Ephesus,  the  metropolis  of  the  province  of  Asia. 
And,  even  in  the  times  of  which  we  are  now  discoursing,  St.  John, 
writing  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  (of  which  Laodicea  was  one,) 
places  Ephesus/  at  the  head  of  them,  as  that  which  had  the  precedence 
of  all  the  rest  in  those  parts. 

15.  Nor  is  it  any  small  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  that,  when  St. 
Paul  passed  through  Asia  to  Jerusalem,  we  read  (Acts  xx.)  that,  not 
having  time  to  go  himself  to  Ephesus,  he  ordered  the  elders  of  that 
church  to  meet  him  at  Miletus,  and  there  gave  his  last  charge  to  them. 
Now  who  those  elders  were  we  are  plainly  told,  (v.  28 ;)  they  were 
the  bishops  of  that  church.  But  it  is  certain  that  in  those  days  there 
was  but  one  bishop,  properly  so  called,  in  a  church  at  one  time ;  and 
therefore  these  could  not  be  the  bishops  of  that  city  alone,5  but  must 
have  been  rather  the  bishop  of  Ephesus,  together  with  the  bishops  of 
the  other  neighbouring  churches  within  that  district ;  and  it  was  pro- 
bably Timothy  who  now  came  at  the  head  of  them.  And  what  kind 
of  a  bishop  he  was,  St.  Paul's  epistles  will  not  suffer  us  to  doubt :  he 
was  indeed  a  bishop  over  other  bishops ;  the  first,  to  say  no  more,  of 
all  the  bishops  in  those  parts. 

16.  Seeing  then  such  was  the  prerogative  which  the  church  of  Ephe- 
sus had  from  the  beginning  over  all  the  other  churches  of  the  Asian 
diocese,  and  that  St.  Paul  himself  had  first  planted  Christianity  there, — 
and  seeing  it  appears,  from  the  command  which  he  gave  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  (chap.  iv.  16,)  to  cause  the  epistle  which  he  had  written  to  them 
to  be  read  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans,  that  he  was  wont  to  order 

°Arg.  in  Epist.  ad  Ephes.         b  Ad  calcem  Codini.         e  Acts  xviii.  19;  xix.  1,  10. 
rfTertull.  de  Prescript,  cap.  xxxvi.  p.  215.  *  Hist.  Ecclcs.  lib.  iii.  c.  6,  p.  339. 

/Rev.  i.  11 ;  ii.  1.         *" Irerwcus,  lib.  iii.  c.  14. 


8  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

the  epistles  which  he  wrote  to  one  church  to  be  Best  to,  and  read  in, 
the  others  that  were  mar  unto  it, — seeing,  lastly,  we  are  told  both  by 
Tertullian"  and  Epiphanius,  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  was  an- 
ciently called  by  some  the  epistle  to  the  Laodiceans ; — I  think  it  may 
not  be  improbable  but  that  by  the  epistle  from  Laodicea  be  may  have 

meant  the  epifltle  which  lie  wrote  t<>  the  Kphesians,''  at  the  same-  time 
and    by   the   same  person  that  he  wrote   to  the  ColoSSianS,  ami  which, 

g  from  them  communicated  to  the  Laodiceans,  might  he  on 

.  I', I'd  to  he  sent  on  to  the  Colossians,  who  were  a  neighbour 
church  to  Laodicea,  ami   afterwards  subject  to  it  as  their  metropolitan. 

17.  Hut  whatever  becomes  of  this  conjecture — whether  by  the 
■  from  Laodicea  we  are  to  understand  some  epistle  written  from 

thai  place,  and  that  either  by  St.  Paul  to  some  other  church  or  person, 
or  l-_\  the  Laodiceans'    to  him,  or  whether  we  are  to  understand  by  it 

epistle  that  was  to  be  communicated  from  thence  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  which  seems  to  me  the  more  probable,  and  particularly  that 
which  he  wrote  by  Tychicus  to  the  Ephesians  at  the  same  time  that  he 

by  him  to  the  Colossians — certain  it  is  that  the  epistle  now 
extant  under  that  title  is  none  of  St.  Paul's  writing;  but  is  made  up 
of  several  parcels  of  his  genuine  epistles,  and  the  expressions  contained 
in  them. 

18.  It  would  be  endless  to  insist  upon  all  the  other  spurious  pieces 
of  the  like  kind  that  have  been  attributed  to  this  great  apostle.  It  is 
Sufficient  to  observe  that  neither  Eusebiusd  nor  St.  Jerome'  knew  any 
diini,'  more  of  his  writing  than  what  we  have  in  those  epistles  that  are 
still  extant  in  our  Bibles  under  his  name,  except  it  were  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  which,  though  doubted  of  by  some  in  the  primitive 
church,  is  yet  ascribed  to  him  by  Eusebius,  who  expressly  accounts 
fourteen  of  his  epistles,  and  speaks  of  that  to  the  Hebrews  a-  his; 
though  he  adds  that,  "being  not  rec<  ived  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  it 
was  by  some  suspected  whether  it  were  indeed  the  true  epistle  I 
Pawl." 

19.  Hut  much  greater  is  the  authority  of  those  supposititious  pi< 
which  the  same  EusebraV  tells  us  were,  ev<  d  in  those  days,  attributed 
to  that  other  great  apostle  St.  Peter,  namely  the  acts,  tin-  gospel,  the 
preaching,  ami  the  revelation  of  St.  Peter.     Nevertheless,  seeing  he 
at  the  same  time  declares  that  they  were  not  catholic,  nor  universally 

and  since  from  other  ecclesiastical  writers  it  may  be  proved 
that  some  of  them  wen-  wholly  composed,  ami  others  interpolated  by 


1  TV  rtoILeaV.  Maroon,  lib.  %.  <•.  wii.  \>.  \<\      Bpiphan.  Hi  raa.  \lii.  num.  \ii.        *  Vid. 
II    toire  Critique  de  Monsieur  Simon  wr  le  N.  T. c.  jx»  p.  166.     8e<   Dr.  MOT 

1    i     p.  i\.  Frifinnii.  Dieq.  Bihtio.  pp  ,  Hnt. 

lib.  ni.  c.  8.        ' Hieron.de Saint Ecdee.  in 8. Paolo.        ^BwekB       1- 

lib.  ni.  c,  a.  ,  •  •:...     (  i  -    l\  tro. 


TREATISES   FALSELY   CALLED    APOSTOLICAL.  9 

heretics,  the  better  to  gain  thereby  credit  to  their  doctrine,  how  ancient 
soever  they  may  otherwise  be,  yet  they  will  not  fall  within  the  com- 
pass of  the  present  collection :  nor  indeed  is  there  any  thing  of  them 
remaining  to  us,  except  the  names,  and  a  few  fragments,  scattered  up 
and  down  in  the  quotations  that  have  been  made  by  the  ecclesiastical 
writers  out  of  them. 

20.  To  these  let  me  add,  in  the  third  place,  the  discourses  ascribed 
to  St.  Matthew,"  the  first  of  the  evangelists.  Two  books  are  still  re- 
maining under  his  name— ra  liturgy,  pretended  to  have  been  composed 
by  him,  and  a  discourse  concerning  the  nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ; 
but  both  rejected  by  learned  men  as  the  works  of  some  impostor  many 
ages  after  the  death  of  that  holy  apostle.  As  for  the  liturgies  ascribed 
in  like  manner  to  some  others  of  the  apostles,  namely,  to  St.  Peter, 
St.  Mark,  and  St.  James,  there  is  not  I  suppose  any  learned  man  at 
this  day  who  believes  them  to  have  been  written  by  those  holy  men, 
and  set  forth  in  the  manner  that  they  are  now  published.  They  were 
indeed  the  ancient  liturgies  of  the  three,  if  not  of  the  four,  patriarchal 
churches,  viz.,  the  Roman,  (perhaps  of  that  of  Antioch  too,)  the  Alex- 
andrian, and  Jerusalem  churches,  first  founded,  or  at  least  governed, 
by  St.  Peter,  St.  Mark,  and  St.  James.  However,  since  it  can  hardly 
be  doubted  but  that  those  holy  apostles  and  evangelists  did  give  some 
directions  for  the  administration  of  the  blessed  eucharist  in  those 
churches,  it  may  reasonably  be  presumed  that  some  of  those  orders 
are  still  remaining  in  those  liturgies  which  have  been  brought  down 
to  us  under  their  names ;  and  that  those  prayers  wherein  they  all  agree 
(in  sense  at  least,  if  not  in  words)  were  first  prescribed  in  the  same,  or 
like  terms,  by  those  apostles  and  evangelists  ;  nor  would  it  be  difficult 
to  make  a  farther  proof  of  this  conjecture  from  the  writings  of  the 
ancient  fathers,  if  it  were  needful  in  this  place  to  insist  upon  it. 

21.  For  what  concerns  the  gospels  set  out  under  the  names  of  several 
of  the  apostles,  though  some  of  them  are  very  ancient,  yet  is  it  ge- 
nerally agreed  among  the  most  judicious  of  all  sides  that  they  were 
not  only  not  written  by  those  holy  persons,  but  were  for  the  most  part 
set  out  by  suspected  authors,  and  for  ill  ends,  after  their  deaths. 

22.  As  for  the  writings  of  the  whole  college  of  apostles,  two  pieces 
there  are,  besides  the  synodical  letter  spoken  of  by  St.  Luke,  (Acts 
xv.  23,)  which  not  only  go  under  their  names,  but  have  been  by  some 
ascribed  to  them  as  the  authors  of  them ;  and  those  are,  first,  the 
Creed,  and  secondly,  the  canons  of  the  apostles. 

23.  For  the  former  of  these,  the  apostles'  creed,  it  has  been  thought 
by  many  that  it  was  so  called,  not  only  as  being  a  summary  of  the 


°Vid.  Cav.  Hist.  Literar.  p.  9.     Natal.  Alex.  sec.  i.  vol.  i.  p.  G5.     Du  Pin  BiM.  vol. 
i.  p.  21. 

2 


10  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

apostles'  doctrine,  but  because  i-  Iry  composed  by  (hem  ;  and 

that  either  in  their  first  assembly  after  our  Lord's  resurrection,  (Acta  i.. . 
or  else  immediately  before  their  dispersion,  upon  the  breaking  out  of 
il-  l's  persecutk)  .  Vets  xii.,)  which  Baronius  and  ot] 
more  probable.  It  i>  nol  my  intention  to  enter  on  an)  particular  ex- 
amination of  this  matter,  which  has  been  so  fully  bandied,  not  only  by 
the  late  critics  <•!'  the  church  of  Rome,  Natalia  Al<  DuPin, 

&c.,  hut  yet  more  especially  by  Archbishop  Usher,'  Gerard  ' 

:•/  Spanhemius/  Tentzelius,«  and  Samuel  Basnage,"  among  the 
Protestants.     It  shall  suffice  to  saj  that,  as  it  is  not  likely  that  b» 
such  thing  as  tliis  been  done  by  the  apostles,  St  Luke  would 
passed  it  by  without  taking  the  least  notice  of  it,  so  the  diversil 

Ifl  in  the  ancient  church,  and  that  not  only  in  expression  hut  in 
some  whole  articles  too,  sufficiently  shows  that  the  creed  which  we 
call  \^\  that  name  was  not  composed  by  the  twelve  apOStleS,  much  less 
in  the  same  form  in  which  it  now  is,  although'  the  articles  of  H  may 
for  the  most  part  have  been  delivered  by  the  apostles  to  their  first  con- 
verts, much  in  the  same  order  that  they  now  stand,  and  have  been  by 
them  confessed  at  their  baptism,  and  on  other  occasions. 

•Jl.  But  much  less  is  it  probable  that  the  canon*  ant  under 

their  name  were  truly  compiled  by  them,  hut  rather,  as  our  late  pious 
and  learned  bishop  Beveridge1  has  shown,  were  a  collection  of  the 
cam  >iis   made  hy  the  councils  of  the  lirst   ages,  put  together 

-.  and  finished,  as  we  now  see  them,  within  300  years  after  Christ, 
before  the  assembling  of  the  fust  general  council  of  Nice.     This 

earliest  date  that  is  at  present  ascribed  to  them  by  the  most  judicious1 

the  Roman  communion,  as  well  as  of  the  reformed  religion; 

and  s. in,,.-  there  are  who  will  by  no  means  allow  them  to  be  so  ancient 
•  11  this  opinion  supposes  them  to 

rident,   then,   that   except    the    Holy  Scriptures   tie 
nothing  remaining  of  the  truly  genuine  Christian  antiquity  more  early 
than  those  pieces  I  have  here  put  together.     Nor  have  the  authors 
whose  bra  -  I  have  now  set  forth  any  other  pieces  yet  renminbi 

Sides  those  that  appear  ID  the  following   collection.      Indeed,  for  what 
■rns  two  of  the  fathers  here  mentioned,  Si.  Clement  and  St.  [gna- 

.  i.  toL  i.  i  M)u  l'in  Biblioth.  Bedea.  rot  i.  p,  Si 

I1     rib.  i!<-  8ymb.         *!         I  mt.  de  triboa  8ymbolia.         ■  Suicer. Thesaur.  I 

torn.  ii.     \  ,  j.  1086,  dtc        '  Sp.uiin  in.  Introtl.  a<l  Hist  Bcdea. 

,  .  ::.  .-it.  i.         *  Bam,  I'  I'  • .  ■    L  Hist 

Cnt.  ad  ana.  \liv.  nam.  17,  18.        *8ee  1><   I  tanot  t"  Bishop  Hull's  Jodie. 

Cath.  i  .  6.        kAnnot.  in  Pandect  Canon.  <>\.>n.  torn.  ii.  i>.  1.     [d.  < 

1       ,  \  iii.lic.it.  c  1 1,  4   .  \  e.   \  ,  fib.  1.  c  18,  p,  28.     1>.  v 

p,    I.  1 1 ii tii.  \n.      <  N    i.   in    I'.itr.    ' 

l>u    Pin,   BibL   Bcdea.  lorn.  i.  p.   86.      N  ■■■  .'.    I  .  voL   il    | 

ml)iii!.-  de   Parodep.    tpostol.  lib.  iii.     Larroqu*    I  B 


TREATISES  FALSELY  CALLED  APOSTOLICAL.      11 

tins,  several  treatises  there  are,  and  some  that  may  seem  much  more 
considerable  than  any  I  have  subjoined,  that  have  been  sent  abroad 
under  the  authority  of  their  names,  but  which  are  at  present  universally 
acknowledged  by  all  learned  men  not  to  have  been  written  by  them. 
Such  are  the  Constitutions  and  Recognitions  of  St.  Clement,  the  col- 
lection called  from  the  same  father  the  Clementines,  the  Epitome  of 
Clement,  and  the  other  epistles  ascribed  to  Ignatius,  besides  the  seven 
here  set  out,  which  alone  were  either  mentioned  by  Eusebius,  or  known 
to  the  church  for  some  ages  after." 

26.  I  shall  not  here  enter  upon  any  particular  inquiry  when  these 
several  pieces  were  first  sent  abroad  into  the  world,  or  how  it  came  to 
pass  that  some,  even  among  the  ancients6  themselves,  received  several 
of  them  for  the  genuine  writings  of  these  holy  men,  only  corrupted,  as 
many  others  were,  by  the  heretics  of  those  first  times,  the  better  to 
give  some  colour  to  their  errors.  I  will  only  observe  that  the  Recog- 
nitions of  St.  Clement — not  only  the  most  learned  but  the  most  ancient 
too  of  any  of  these,  as  near  as  we  can  guess — were  not  set  forth  till 
about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  are  rejected  by  Eusebius0 
as  none  of  his,  but  as  one  of  those  many  impostures  which  were  even 
then  published  under  his  name.  And  for  the  rest,  though  some  of 
them  have  been  reputed  ancient  too,  yet  it  is  evident  that  none  of 
them  come  up  to  the  period  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  nor  even  to 
the  age  of  the  Recognitions  before  mentioned.*1 

27.  As  for  the  Epitome  of  St.  Clement,  Cotelerius"  esteems  it  to 
have  been  yet  later  than  any  of  the  rest.  Perhaps  it  was  collected  by 
Metaphrastes,  whom  I  take  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  martyrdom 
of  that  holy  man,  set  out  by  Surius-^  and  Allatius,s  and  reprinted  by 
Cotelerius  at  the  end  of  the  works  ascribed  to  St.  Clement.  This  is 
certain,  that  it  was  composed  in  some  of  the  latter  ages,  as  was  also 
the  account  of  the  miracle  pretended  to  be  wrought  at  his  martyrdom, 
which  goes  under  the  name  of  Ephraem,  archbishop  of  Cherson ;  where 
(if  Du  Pin*  be  not  mistaken)  there  never  was  any.  And  this  Cotelerius 
seems  to  have  been  aware  of ;  and  therefore  in  his  annotations  upon 
this  relation,  calls  him  archbishop,  or  bishop,  of  Cherson.  Now  that 
there  was  such  a  bishop  appears  both  from  the  ancient  Notitia)1  of  the 

aSee  this  discussed  at  large  by  Archbishop  Usher,  Dissert,  ad  Ignat.  cap.  v.  vi.  xiw 
j).  2.  fcEpiphan.  Hseres.  xxx.  Ruffinus  de  Adulterat.  lib.  Origcn.  Tract,  xvw.  i:-. 
Matthaeum.  Author  Oper.  Imperfect,  in  Matth.  inter  Oper.  Chrysost.  ad  Mat.  x.  et  xxiw 
c  Vid.  Coteler.  Not.  in  Script.  PP.  Apost.  p.  343.  Natal.  Alex.  sec.  i.  A.  torn.  i.  p.  126. 
Du  Pin.  Bibl.  vol.  i.  pp.  80,  81.  d  Coteler.  Annot.  in  Script.  PP.  Apost.  p.  113.  A. 
115.  D.  403,  431,  C.  D.  '  Sixt.  Sencns.  Biblioth.  lib.  ii.  in  Clement.  Powevin.  Appaiat 
p.  328.  Bellarm.  de  Script,  sec.  i.  in  Clement.  Natal.  Alt  x.  sec.  i.  torn.  i.  p.  120.  Id. 
ibid.  cap.  de  St.  Ignat.  p.  139.  Du  Pin  Biblioth.  pp.  81,  83,  102,  At.  ■  Not*  in 
Script.  PP.  Apost.  p.  431,  C.  D.  /Surius  ad  Nov.  23.  rAllatiua  in  Diatrib.  de 
Symeonum  Scriptis.  *  Du  Pin  Biblioth.  torn.  i.  p.  89,  r.  '  Vide  Geogr.  Sucr.  a 
8.  Paulo,  pp.  11,  43. 


12  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

province  of  Europe  under  tin-  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  from 
the  subscription  which  Peter,-  bishop  of  this  place,  made  to  the  coun- 
cil ofChalceaOn  for  Cyriacus,  archbishop  of  Heraclea,  in  whose  pro- 
vince that  see  lay.     And  the  Disposition  of  Leo  the  Sixth,"  made 

towards  the   latter  end   of  the  ninth    century,  mentions   it   among 

archbishoprics  subject  to  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople;  to  which 
i  e  therefore,  about  that  time,  or  not  long  before,  it  seems  to  have 

been  raised. 

.  There  is  nothing  then  in  any  of  those  pieces  which  make  up 

the  rest  of  Cotelerius's  collection,  (and  are  indeed  all  that  still  remain 

under  the  names  of  those  fathers  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,)  that 

•  an  with  any  <;ood  grounds  be  relied  upon  as  the  genuine  products 
of  those  holy  men.  Let  us  see,  in  the  last  place,  whether  any  of  those 
discourses  which  have  been  sent  abroad  under  the  names  of  some 
-  of  the  apostolical  fathers  may  deserve  to  be  received  by  us  as 
coming  truly  from  them. 

29.   And  here  J  shall,  in  the  first  place,  take  it  for  granted  that  what 
those  who  are  usually  the  most  fond  of  such  spurious  pieces  (I  mean 
riters  of  the  church  of  Rome)  have  yet  almost  unanimously  re- 
1   as  false   and  counterfeit,   may  securely  be  laid  aside  by  US, 
without  any  farther  inquiry  into  the  condition  of  them.     Such  are  the 
the  Life,  Miracles,  and  Assumption  of  St.  John,  pretended 
ive  been  written  by  Prochorus  his  disciple,  and  one  of  the  seven 
ms  chosen  by  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  (Acts  vi.,) — the  Histories 
.  I1    er  and  St.  Paul,  said  to  have  been  written  by  Linus,  one  of 
the  6  :    Rome, — the  Lives  of  the   Apostles,  ascribed  to 

Abdias,  bishop  of  Babylon,  and  supposed  to  have  been  written  by 
him  in  ih"  Hebrew  tongue, — the  Epistles  of  St.  Martial,  who  is  said 
•  e  been  one  of  the  seventy  disciples  appointed  by  our  Saviour, 
ue  of  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  France.  These  are  all  so 
evidently  spurious  that  even  Natalia  Alexander  himself  was  ash 
to  undertake'the  defence  of  them  ;  and  not  only  he,  but  all  tin- 
writers   of  the    same   church,  BaroniuS,    I>ellannine,  Sixtus   Senens's 

rine,   Espencaeus,  Bisciola,  Labbe,  fltc.,  have  freely  acknow- 
ledged the  little  credit  that  i  \  en  to  them. 

pieces  their  are  which    Alexander   is  still  unwilling  to 

with,  though  he  cannot  deny  but  that  the  most  1   aimed  men  even 

s  own  communion  have  ;it  lasl  agreed  in  the  rejecting  of  them, 
and  t  !'    sion  of  St.  Andrew,  written  (as  is  pret< 

the    |  \ehaia,  and   the  Wi  under  the   name  oi 

Dionysiua  the  Areopagite. 

a<  ;••:•.  s ,,  r.  p.  'J:;:!,  iii  CberaaneiMfc  D         Rom.] 

1500,  put  i.  p.  88.  torn.  L  pp.  'J~>,  1 1">. 


TREATISES  FALSELY  CALLED  APOSTOLICAL.      13 

31.  As  for  the  former  of  these,  I  confess  there  have  not  been  want- 
ing many,  from  the  eighth  century  downwards,  who  have  undertaken 
the  defence  of  it.  Etheriusa  mentioned  it  about  the  year  788  ;  Re- 
migius,  after;  Peter  Damian,  Lanfranc,  and  St.  Bernard,  still  later; 
and,  in  this  last  age,  Baronius,  Bellarmine,  Labbe,  and  a  few  others, 
have  yet  more  endeavoured  to  establish  its  authority.  "But  then," 
as  Du  Pinb  well  observes,  «  we  do  not  find  the  ancients  knew  of  any 
Acts  of  St.  Andrew  in  particular ;  nor  are  the  Acts  we  now  have 
quoted  by  any  before  the  time  of  Etherius  before  mentioned ;  and 
yet,  how  they  could  have  escaped  the  search  of  the  primitive  fathers, 
had  they  been  extant  in  their  days,  it  is  hard  to  imagine." 

32.  But  much  less  is  the  credit  that  ought  to  be  given  to  the  pre- 
tended works  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite ;  which,  as  Alexander0  con- 
fesses two  very  great  critics"  of  his  own  communion  to  have  denied  to 
have  been  written  by  that  holy  man,  so  has  a  third6  very  lately  given 
such  reasons,  to  show  that  the  writings  now  extant  under  his  name 
could  not  have  been  composed  by  him,  as  ought  to  satisfy  every  con- 
sidering person  of  their  imposture.  For,  not  to  say  any  thing  of  what 
occurs  everywhere  in  those  discourses  utterly  disagreeable  to  the  state 
of  the  church  in  the  time  that  Dionysius  lived,  can  it  be  imagined  that, 
if  such  considerable  books  as  these  had  been  written  by  him,  none  of 
the  ancients  of  the  first  four  centuries  should  have  heard  any  thino-  of 
them?  Or  shall  we  say  that  they  did  know  of  them  as  well  as  the 
fathers  that  lived  after,  and  yet  made  no  mention  of  them,  though  they 
had  so  often  occasion  to  have  done  it,  as  Eusebius  and  St.  Jerome, 
not  to  name  any  others,  had  ? 

33.  In  short,  one  of  the  first  times  that  we  hear  of  them  is  in  the 
dispute  between  the  Severians  and  Catholics  about  the  year  532,  when 
the  former  produced  them  in  favour  of  their  errors,  and  the  latter 
rejected  them  as  books  utterly  unknown  to  all  antiquity,  and  therefore 
not  worthy  to  be  received  by  them. 

34.  It  is  therefore  much  to  be  wondered  that,  after  so  many  argu- 
ments as  have  been  brought  to  prove  how  little  right  these  treatises 
have  to  such  a  primitive  antiquity,  nevertheless,  not  only  Natalis  Alex- 
ander, but  a  man  of  much  better  judgment,  I  mean  Emanuel  Schel- 
strat/  the  learned  keeper  of  the  Vatican  library,  should  still  undertake 
the  defence  of  them.  When  they  were  written,  or  by  what  author,  is 
very  uncertain  ;  but,  as  Bishop  Pearson-  supposes  them  to  have  been 
first  set  forth  about  the  latter  end  of  Eusebius's  life,  so  Dr.  Cave"  con- 


•Vid.  NataL  Alex.  sec.  i.  torn.  i.  p.  109.  Labbe  de  Script.  Eccles.  torn.  i.  p.  3,  &c 
MWelle  Biblioth.  torn.  i.  pp.  47,  48.  « Natal.  Alex.  sec.  i.  vol.  i.  p.  136.  Labbe  de 
Script,  loin.  i.  in  Dionysio.  -  He  might  have  added  seven]  others:  see  Bellarm.  de 
Script,  p.  56.         'Du  Pin  Nouvelle  Biblioth.  torn.  i.  p.  90.        /Vide  Cave  Hist    Lil 

sec.  lv.  p.  177.         ts  Ymdic.  Ignat.  part  i.  c.  10.         *  Loc.  supr.  cit. 

B 


14  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

jectures  that  the  elder  Apollinariufl  may  very  probably  have  been  the 
author  of  them.  Others'  there  arc  who  place  then  yd  later,  and  sus- 
pect Pope  Gregory  tin-  Great  to  hate  had  a  hand  in  (he  forgery.  And 
indeed  the  arguments  which  our  very  learned  Mr.  I )< •dwell'  Win 

■  that  they  wen-  originally  written  by  one  of  the  Roman  church, 
are  not  without  their  just  weight.  But  whatever  becomes  of  this,  thus 
much  is  certain,  thai  th<  ere  not  written  before  the  middle 

of  the  fourth  century,  and  therefore  are  without  the  compass  of  tl. 
sent  undertaking. 

.    And    now,  having  taken  such  a  \\c\\   as  was  ne<  r  the 

:;i  design  of  all  those  other  pieces  which  have  been  obtruded 
upon  the  world  foi  apostolical  writings,  besides  what  is  either  here  col- 

',  or  has  been  before  published  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  New 
Testament, — I  suppose  I  may  with  £ood  grounds  conclude  that  the 
little  I  have  now  put  together  is  all  that  can  with  any  certainty  he  de- 
pended  upon  ol   the  most  primitive  fathers;  and  therefore  that  from 

.  next  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  must  be  content  to  draw  the  best 
account  we  can  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  church,  for  the  first 
hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF   'inf.    AUTHORITY    OK   TUT,    FOLLOWING    TREATISES,    AND   THE   DEFER- 

•  E  THAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  PAID  TO  THEM    UPON   THE  ACCOUNT  OK  IT. 

This  is  shown  from  the  following   c. moderations : — I.  Thai   the  authors  of  them  were 
contemporary  with  the  apostle*,  and  instructed  by  them. — 2.  They  were  men  of  ao 

eminent  character  in  the  Church;   and  therefore,  to  be  sure,  such  SB  Could  DOt  !><  ligUO- 

r.mt  of  what  vras  taught  in  it. — 3.  They  were  very  careful  to  preserve  the  doctrine  of 

Christ  in  its  purity,  and    to   oppose   BUcfa   as   went   aboul  to  corrupt  it. — 1.   Tin  \   SH  IS 

men  not  only  of  ■  perfect  piety,  hut  .»t"  great  courage  and  constancy;  and  therefore 

such  as  cannot   he   suspected    to   DAVC  had   nnv  design    t<»  prevaricate  in  this  matter. — 

.">.  They  •ran  endued  w  i 1 1 1  a  large  portion  of  the  Holy  Spirit, and  ss  such  could  hardly 
err  in  \%  h:it  they  delivered  s  •  part  of  the  Gospel  of  ( 'hrist. — And,  t>.  Their 

Writings  were  approved   h\   the  Church  in  those  days,  which   could  1 1 « »t  DS  mistaken  in 

robstjon  of  them. 

1.  Bi  r,  secondly,  and  to  proceed  yet  farther:  the  following  collec- 
tion pretends  to  a  jus!  esteem,  not  onlj  upon  the  account  of  its  perfec- 
tion, as  it  is  an  entire  collect  ion  of  what  remains  to  us  of  the  apostolical 
fathers,  but  yet  orach  more  from  the  respect  that  is  due  to  the  authors 
themselves  whose  writings  are  here  put  together. 


I'aille  aj>ud  IYur-on.  loc  MpT.  rit.  *  Dodwefl         3  ,  •  Hit  sec.  ui. 

p.  389. 


AUTHORITY    OF   THE    FOLLOWING    TREATISES.  15 

2.  If,  first,  we  consider  them  as  the  contemporaries  of  the  holy  apos- 
tles, some  of  them  bred  up  under  our  Saviour  Christ  himself,  and  the 
rest  instructed  by  those  great  men  whom  he  commissioned  to  go  forth 
and  preach  to  all  the  world,"  and  endued  with  an  extraordinary  assist- 
ance of  his  blessed  Spirit  for  the  doing  of  it,b  we  cannot  doubt  but  that 
what  they  deliver  to  us  must  be,  without  controversy,  the  pure  doc- 
trine of  the  gospel — what  Christ  and  his  apostles  taught,  and  what 
they  had  themselves  received  from  their  own  mouths.  This  is  the 
least  deference  we  can  pay  to  the  authors  here  set  forth, — to  look  upon 
them  as  faithful  deliverers  of  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  church 
in  those  most  early  times,  when  heresies  were  not  as  yet  so  openly 
broke  out  in  it,  nor  the  true  faith  so  dangerously  corrupted  with  the 
mixture  of  those  erroneous  opinions  which  afterwards  more  fatally  in- 
fected the  minds  of  men,  and  divided  the  church  into  so  many  opposite 
parties  and  factions.  So  that  here,  then,  we  may  read  with  security, 
and  let  me  add,  with  respect  too,  and  not  doubt  but  that  what  these 
holy  men  deliver  to  us,  in  all  the  fundamental  articles  of  it,  is  as  cer- 
tainly the  true  doctrine  of  Christ  as  if  we  had  received  it,  like  them, 
from  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles. 

3.  But,  secondly,  the  authors  of  the  following  pieces  had  not  only 
the  advantage  of  living  in  the  apostolical  times,  of  hearing  the  holy 
apostles  and  conversing  with  them,  but  were  most  of  them  persons  of 
a  very  eminent  character  in  the  church  too — men  raised  up  to  the  high- 
est pitch  of  dignity  and  authority  in  some  of  the  most  famous  churches 
of  the  world,  chosen  by  the  apostles  to  preside  in  their  own  proper 
sees,  at  Rome,-  at  Antioch,  at  Smyrna — one  of  them  set  apart  by  the 
express  command  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  the  companion  of  St.  Paul 
in  his  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  rest  for  the  most  part  commended 
for  their  rare  endowments,  in  the  inspired  writings  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures delivered  to  us ;  and  therefore  we  may  be  sure  that  such  men  as 
these  must  needs  have  been  very  carefully  instructed  in  the  mystery 
of  the  gospel,  and  have  had  a  most  perfect  knowledge  of  the  faith  as 
it  is  in  Jesus. 

4.  Had  they  been  some  ordinary  and  obscure  writers,  even  of  the 
apostolical  times,  men  of  no  note,  no  authority  in  the  church — though 
still,  whilst  we  had  a  good  account  of  their  integrity,  the  very  advan- 
tage of  the  age  wherein  they  lived  would  have  rendered  their  dis- 
courses justly  venerable  to  us,  yet  should  we  not  perhaps  have  been 
obliged  to  pay  such  a  deference  to  their  writings  as  not  to  make  al- 
lowance for  some  lesser  defects  or  mistakes  that  might  have  happened 
to  them.  But,  having  to  do  with  men  not  only  instructed  in  common 
by  the  apostles  with  the  other  Christians  of  those  days,  but  particularly 

a  Matt,  xxviii.  19.     Mark  xvi.  15.  *       ^Lukc  xxiv.  49.     Acts  i.  8.     Acts  ii. 


16  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

bred  up  and  instituted  by  them  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,— having 

the  writings  of  men  who  had  attained  to  such  a  perfect  lcnowl< 
in  the  mystery  of  godliness,  and  were  judged  to  have  been  so  well 
grounded  and  settled  m  it  as  to  deserve  to  be  raised  up  by  the  apt 
themselves  to  the  government  of  such  eminent  churches  as  those  over 
which  these  hoi)  men  were  overseers, — it  is  plain  we  cannot,  with 
a,  doubt  of  what  they  deliver  to  as  as  th<  <>f  Christ, 

>Ught  to  receive  it,  if  not  with  equal  veneration,  yet  but  with  a 
little  h-vs  reaped  than  we  do  the  sacred  writings  of  those  who  were 
their  m  ISters  and  instructors. 

5.    V< ■;   farther,  thirdly,  the  following  authors  were  not  only  surh 
eminent   men,   and  bred  up  under  such  mighty  advantages,  and  so 
well  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  as  I  have  now  ob- 
1,  but  they  were,  moreover,  persons  of  a  consummated  piety, 
adorned  with  all  those  Christian  virtues  they  so  affectionately  recom- 
mend to  us  ;  but  especially  they  were  zealous  watchmen  over  their 
churches,  careful  to  instruct  them  in  the  true  faith  and  doctrine  of 
Christ,  and  no  less  careful  to  preserve  them  against  the  contagion  of 
which  even  in  their  days  began  to  corrupt  the  purity  of 
it.      Hence  we  read  with  what  a  holy  zeal  that  blessed  martyr  Ignatius, 
first,  and  then  his  fellow-disciple   St.  Polycarp,  set  themselves  against 
who  would  instil  some  other  doctrines  into  the  minds  of  their 
le  tlan   what   the   apostles  had  delivered  unto  them,  what  Wise 
•  they  gave  them  for  the  discovery  of  such  false  teachers, a  and 
:  testly  they  exhorted  them,  by  keeping  firm  to  their  respective 

ips  and  presbyters,  and  to  the  apostolical  doctrine  delivered  by 
them,  to  prevent  their  gaining  any  advantage  against  them. 

G.   With  what  assurance   do  they  deliver  the   doctrine  which  they 

had  received!     How  confidently  do  they  declare  it  to  be  the  true 

rine  of  Christ,  and  exhort  the  churches  to  whom  they  write  not  to 

give  an\  heed  to  such  as  would  insinuate  any  other  doctrine  into  their 

And  how  did  they  themselves  show  them,  by  their  own  i  \- 

ampleS,  how  they  should  avoid  such  persons!    Insomuch  that  Ireiueus' 
I   lis  US  that,  if  St.  Polycarp   at  any  time  chanced  to  hear   any  one  de- 
liver any  other  doctrine  than  what  he  had  been  taught,  he  did  not  only 
.•a)  Countenance  to   such   an  one,  but  was  wont   to   stop   his 
..'  him,  and  cried  out  with  astonishment  and  grief,   «  Good  God! 

to  what  times  hast  thou  reserved  me,  that  I  shall  endure  this  \n    Nay, 

■mid  not  tarry  in   the   same   place  with   sin  h  a  person,  but  would 
the  house  it  he  knew  that  any  heretics  were  in  it. 
7.    But  of  the  care  which  these  hoi)  men  had  t"  L 


I  Bpj 

lib.  %.  .  . 


AUTHORITY    OF    THE    FOLLOWING   TREATISES.  17 

the  least  circumstance  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  apostles  we 
cannot,  I  think,  desire  a  fairer  instance  to  convince  us,  than  what 
Eusebius"  has  recorded  of  the  same  blessed  martyr  ;  how  that  hear- 
ing of  the  difference  between  the  eastern  and  western  churches' about 
the  time  of  keeping  Easter,  he  thought  it  worthy  his  pains,  at  an  ex- 
treme  old  age,  to  take  a  journey  as  far  as  Rome  for  the  composing  of 
it.  And  notwithstanding  all  that  Anicetus,  who  was  then  bishop  of 
that  church,  could  say  to  move  him  from  his  practice,  yet  having 'this 
ground  for  it,  that  St.  John  was  wont  to  keep  Easter  as  he  did  the 
good  man  held  close  to  it,  and  would  not  hear  of  changing  a  custom 
which  that  blessed  apostle  had  delivered  to  him. 

8.  And  when  such  was  the  care  which  these  holy  writers  had  of 
holding  fast,  even  to  the  least  particular,  of  what  they  received  from 
the  apostles,  that  they  would  not  comply  with  the  rest  of  the  church 
in  such  an  indifferent  matter,  only  because  by  so  doing  they  should 
depart  from  the  practice  of  one  of  them,  surely  we  may  with  confi- 
dence depend  upon  the  doctrine  which  they  deliver,  as  most  pure  and 
genuine—what  our  Saviour  taught  his  apostles,  and  his  apostles  them 
And  what  Irenes  once  said  of  his  master  Polycarp,  we  may  with 
equal  truth  and  assurance  apply  to  all  the  rest  of  those  fathers  whose 
treatises  I  have  here  put  together:  « that  they  taught  evermore  what 
they  had  received  from  the  apostles,  which  also  they  delivered  to  the 
church,  and  which  only  is  the  true  doctrine  of  Christ."1' 

9.  To  this  general  piety  of  their  lives,  and  care  for  the  truth  and 
purity  of  their  religion,  let  me  add,  fourthly,  their  courage  and  con- 
stancy m  the  maintaining  of  it.  How  great  this  was  I  have  already 
shown,  in  the  particular  accounts  which  I  have  given  of  the  several 
fathers  whose  writings  are  here  subjoined.*  It  shall  suffice  in  this 
place  to  observe  that  the  most  of  them,  after  having  spent  their  lives 
in  a  careful  administration  of  the  great  charges  to  which  they  were 
called,  were  at  last  made  perfect  by  martyrdom,  and  underwent  the 
most  exquisite  cruelties  with  a  courage  and  constancy  worthy  both  of 
the  religion  they  professed,  and  of  the  eminent  characters  which  they 
had  obtained  in  the  church. 

10.  Now  though  this  does  not  immediately  argue  the  purity  of  their 
doctrine,  yej  being  added  to  what  I  have  before  observed,  it  will  give 
us  a  new  ground  to  rely  upon  the  truth  of  what  they  deliver  For 
since  we  cannot  reasonably  doubt  but  that  such  persons  as  these  must 
needs  have  known  what  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles  was,  and  have 
been  perfectly  instructed  in  that  religion  which  they  were  esteemed 
able  and  worthy  to  preach  to  others,  we  have  in  this  a  clear  demon- 


•  Euseb  Hist  Eccles.  lib.  v.  c.  26.         » Iren.  adv.  H<eres.  lib.  iii.  c.  3. 
bee  the  preliminary  discourses  prefixed  to  the  several  Epistles, 

3  b2 


18  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

stration  of  their  integrity,  both  in  their  teaching  and  writing  of  it,  and 
must  conclude  that  they  who  lived  such  excellent  lives,  and  took  so 
much  pains  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel — who  stuck  with  such  firm- 
ness to  it,  notwithstanding  all  the  endeavours  of  their  enemies  to  the 
contrary,  and  chose  rather  to  undergo  the  most  bitter  deaths  than  they 
would  in  anywise  depart  from  it, — have  doubtless  dealt  most  up- 
rightly in  this  matter,  and  delivered  nothing  to  as  but  what  they  took 

for  the  true   doctrine  of  Christ,  and  what  therefore  we   mas  conclude 

undoubtedly  was  bo. 

11.  Such  L,r"<>d   reasoo   have  we,  upon  all  these  accounts,  to  look 
upon  the  writings  of  these  holy  men  as  containing  the  pure  and  un- 

corrupted  doctrine  of  our  blessed  Saviour  and  his  apostles.  .But  now, 
fifthly,  and  to  advance  yet  higher,  these  writers  were  not  only  thus. 
qualified  by  these  ordinary  means  to  deliver  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  us, 

but  in  all  probability  were  endued  with  the  extraordinary  assistance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  too  ;  so  that  what  they  teach  us  is  not  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  mere  traditionary  relation  of  what  had  been  delivered  to 
them,  but  rather  as  an  authoritative  declaration  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
to  us,  though  indeed  as  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  apostles  and 
evangelists  as  both  their  gilts  and  their  commission  were  inferior  to 
theirs. 

12.  For,  first,  that   the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with 
which  the  apostles  wen-  endued — and  which  the  holy  scriptures'  them- 

-  tell  us  were  in  those  days  distributed  to  other  believers  as  well 
as  unto  Ujem — continued  still  in  the  church  after  their  departure,  we 
have  the  express  testimony  of  Justin  Martyr,"  one  of  the  most  ancient 
writers,  alter  those  I  have  here  subjoined,  to  assure  us.  They  were 
communicated  not  only  to  men  but  women.'  And,  that  we  may  be 
sure  he  spake  nothing  in  this  matter  but  what  he  could  undeniably 
have  made  out,  we  find  him  boasting  of  it  against  Trypho  the  Jew, 
and  Urging  it  as   an  unanswerable  argument    in  behalf  of  Christianity, 

and  against  the  Jews,  from  whom  these  gifts  had  a  long  time  been  de- 
parted. And, even  in  the  fathers  whose  writings  are  here  put  together, 
there  appear  sufficient  indications  <•!  the  continuance  of  these  extraor- 
dinary powers. 

13.  This  St.  Clement'  manifestly  declares,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians:  he  tells  us  mat  some  in  thai  church  not  only  had 

.  but  Were  even    proud    and    Conceited    upon  the  account  of  them. 

••  Let  a  miii)/'  says  he,  "have  faith,"'  (i.  e.  such  a  faith  by  which  he 
is  able  to  work  miracles ;)c«let  him  be  powerful  to  utter  mystical  know- 
ledge,'1 (ibr  to  that  his  expression  manifestly  refers;   "let  him  b« 

►See  1  Cor.  hr.  IS.     Bphea.     I    a        UtiviiL  14, 17;  xix.8,  dec        » Yi<l.  ! 
Beck  .  Hh.fr.  . .  !•">.    JmS  Mart.  DfcL  cum  Tiypfe.  p.  ;;<  9,        "IfcidL  p.  S15. 

I       i.    \  .    ,  fi  ■    .i.  lib.  m.     !  .  p,  :io. 


AUTHORITY    OF   THE    FOLLOWING   TREATISES.  19 

in  discerning  of  speeches,"  (another  gift  common  in  those  times:) 
"still,8*  says  he,  "by  how  much  the  more  he  seems  to  excel  others," 
viz.,  upon  the  account  of  these  extraordinary  endowments,  "by  so 
much  the  more  will  it  behove  him  to  be  humble-minded,  and  to  seek 
what  is  profitable  to  all  men,  and  not  to  his  own  advantage."  And 
St.  Ignatius"  not  only  supposes  that  such  gifts  might  be  in  others,  but 
plainly  intimates  that  he  himself  was  endued  with  a  large  portion  of 
them. 

14.  Which  being  so,  we  cannot  doubt,  secondly,  but  that,  as  it  was 
most  reasonable,  both  the  apostles  were  careful  to  set  those  in  the 
chiefest  places  of  honour  and  authority  in  their  several  churches  who 
were  the  most  eminent  for  those  gifts,  and  that  God  was  also  pleased 
to  grant  to  such  persons  a  more  than  ordinary  portion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  for  the  better  discharge  of  those  eminent  places  to  which  they 
were  called. 

15.  Concerning  the  former  of  these,  we  are  told  by  St.  Paul,  (Acts 
vi.,)  that  when  the  apostles  thought  it  necessary  to  establish  a  new  order 
of  ministers  in  the  church,  that  might  take  care  of  those  things  which 
they  who  were  of  a  higher  rank  could  not  find  leisure  to  attend  to 
though  their  ministry  were  of  the  lowest  order,  and  which  required 
much  less  capacities  in  those  who  were  to  discharge  it  than  theirs 
whose  business  it  was  to  govern  and  instruct  the  church  of  Christ,  yet 
they  particularly  laid  it  down  to  the  brethren,  as  one  of  the  qualifica- 
tions that  was  to  be  required  in  those  whom  they  chose  for  that  pur- 
pose, that  they  should  be  «  men  well  approved  of  and  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  of  wisdom,"  v.  3.  And  of  one  of  them,  viz.,  St.  Stephen, 
it  is  particularly  observed,  (v.  8,)  that  he  was  "full  of  faith  and  power,' 
and  did  signs  and  great  wonders  among  the  people."  And  when  the 
Jews  disputed  against  him,  we  read  (v.  10)  that  they  were  not  able 
to  stand  against  the  wisdom  and  spirit  by  which  he  spake." 

16.  Now,  if  such  was  the  care  which  they  took  in  the  choice  of 
those  who  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  lowest  ministry  of  the  church, 
we  cannot  doubt  but  that  they  were  certainly  much  more  careful  not 
to  admit  any  into  the  highest  rank  of  honour  and  authority  in  it  but 
what  were,  in  a  yet  more  eminent  manner,  endued  with  the  same  gifts. 
Hence  St.  Clement  tells  us  that  "the  apostles  did  prove  by  the  Spirit 
the  first  fruits  of  their  conversions,  and  out  of  them  set  bishops  and 
pastors  over  such  as  should  believe."c  By  which  we  must  understand 
one  of  these  two  things,  (and  very  probably  they  were  both  meant  by 
it,)  either  that  the  apostles  made  use  of  their  own  extraordinary  gift  of 
the  Spirit  (one  use  of  which  was  to  discern  and  try  the  spirits  of  others") 
in  choosing  persons  fitly  qualified  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  or  else 

,i  °  ?,ee,!hc  Slhltation  t0  the  Smymeana        »  Epwt  to  the  Philadelphia^,  see.  vii.    To 
the  I  ralhans,  sec.  v.         <  Clem.  Epist.  num.  xlii.  xliv.         «  l  Cor.  xii.  10.     Heh.  iv.  12. 


20  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

that,  by  the  extraordinary  gifts  ofthoi  diey  pitched  upon,  they 

ived  that  they  were  worthy  of  Mich  an  employ,  and  therefore 
them  out  for  it.  And  the  other  Clement  yet  more  plainly  speaki 
the  same  thing :  that  "  St  John,  being  returned  from  his  banisbmenl 
i.i  Patmos,  went  about  the  country  near  unto  Ephesus,  both  to  form 
and  settle  churches,  where  he  saw  occasion,  and  to  admit  into  the  order 
oi'ti.  ueh  as  were  marked  out  to  him  by  the  Spirit."" 

17.  And  then  for  the  other  thing  observed  :  it  is  clear  that  the  verj 
imposition  yf  hands  did,  in  those  days,  confer  the  I  Inly  Spirit  in  an 

extraordinary  manner   upon  those   who  were  ordained  to  the  ministry 

of  the  Gospel.     This  St  Paul  intimates  to  Timothy,  where  he  exhorts 

him  to  stir  up  to  ^oc^cr/xu  the  gift,  (i.  e.  the  extraordinary  power  of  the 
Spirit,)  "whl<  he,  "is  in  thee  by  the  imposition  of  my 

hands/1  -2  Tim.  i.  G.  And,  would  you  know  how  this  ceremony  of 
setting  him  apart  for  such  a  service  came  to  endue  him  with  such  an 
rdinary  power,  the  same  apostle  will  tell  you  (1  Tim.  iv.  14)  that 
ii  was  given  unto  him  by  prophecy,  with,  or  through,  the  imposition 
of  hands  upon  him  ;  that  is  to  say,  God — who,  by  his  prophets,  had 
designed  and  marked  him  out  for  that  great  office,  (1  Tim.  i.  18) 
— upon  the  actual  admission  of  him  into  it  by  the  outward  rite  of  lay- 
ing on  of  hands,  and  upon  the  solemn  prayers  that  were  then  withal 
made  lor  him,  did  bestow  the  gifts  of  his  blessed  Spirit  in  an  extraor- 
dinary manner  upon  him. 

18.  Now,  as  this  will  give  us  a  good  ground  to  conclude  that  ti 
holy  men,  whose  writings  we  have  here  collected,  were  endued  with 
a  veiy  large  portion  of  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whe- 
ther we  consider  the  frequency  of  those  endowments  in  the  age  in 
which  they  lived,  or  the  extraordinary  strictness  and  piety  of  their  lives, 
or  the  greatness  of  those  stations  to  which  they  were  called  in  the 
church,  or,  lastly,  the  judgment  which  the  apostles,  who  called  them 
to  those  high  offices,  were  by  the  Spirit  enabled  to  make  of  them  ;— 
SO,  thirdly,  if  we  look  Jo  those  accounts  which  still  remain  to  us  of 
them,  they  will  plainly  show   us  that  they  were  endued,  and  that  in  a 

i  minent  manner,  with  this  power  and  gift  of  the  blessed  Spirit. 
L9.  Oi   B  rnabas,  the  holy  scripture  Itself  bears  witness,  thai  "he 
i  man,  full  ofthe  1 1  !\  Ghost,and  of  faith."    (Ad 
Heron  aer  of  whom  St.  Paul  himself  makes  mention  (Rom. 

x\i.  14)  as  an  early  convert  to  Christianity.     And  what  extraordinary 

revelations  he  had,  and  how  he  forel  'Id  tic  troubles  that  were  to  oun< 

upon  the  church,  hi-  followii  ifficiently  declare. 

•-'<>.  Clement  i^  no1  on!}  i  e  apostle,  but  with 

this  advantageous  chara<  ter  I  fell  w-lah  urer  of  that 

•Clem.  Alex  de  Divit  Salv.  nam.  xlii     Baeeb.  Hwt  BccIm.  ir.>.  iii.  <•.  I 


AUTHORITY    OF    THE    FOLLOWING   TREATISES.  21 

great  man,  and  had  his  name  written  in  the  book  of  life.  (Phil.  iv.  3.) 
And,  when  we  shall  consider  to  how  much  inferior  and  worse  men  these 
gifts  were  usually  communicated  at  that  time,  we  can  hardly  think  that 
so  excellent  a  man,  and  the  companion  of  so  great  an  apostle,  em- 
ployed first  in  the  planting  of  the  gospel  with  him,  and  then  sent  to 
govern  one  of  the  most  considerable  churches  in  the  world,  should 
have  been  destitute  of  it. 

21.  As  for  St.  Ignatius,  I  have  before  observed  that  he  had  this 
gift ;  and,  by  the  help  of  it,  warned  the  Philadelphians"  against  falling 
into  those  divisions  which  he  foresaw  were  about  to  rise  up  amongst 
them. 

22.  Polycarp  not  only  prophesied  of  his  own  death,  but  spake  often- 
times of  things  that  were  to  come  ;b  and  has  this  witness  from  the  whole 
church  of  Smyrna,  that  nothing  of  all  that  he  foretold  ever  failed  of 
coming  to  pass  according  to  his  prediction. 

23.  It  remains,  then,  that  the  holy  men  whose  writings  are  here 
subjoined  were  not  only  instructed  by  such  as  were  inspired,  but  were 
themselves,  in  some  measure,  inspired  too  ;  at  least  were  endued  with 
the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  better  fulfilling  of 
those  great  offices  to  which  God  had  called  them  in  his  church.  And 
therefore  we  must  conclude  that  they  were  not  only  not  mistaken  in 
what  they  deliver  to  us  as  the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  in  all  the  neces- 
sary parts  of  it  were  so  assisted  by  the  Holy  Ghost  as  hardly  to  have 
been  capable  of  being  mistaken  in  it ;  by  consequence  that  we  ought 
to  look  upon  their  writings,0  though  not  of  equal  authority  with  those 
which  we  call,  in  a  singular  manner,  the  holy  scriptures,  (because 
neither  were  the  authors  of  them  called  in  so  extraordinary  a  way  to 
the  writing  of  them,  nor  endued  with  so  eminent  a  portion  of  the  gifts 
of  the  blessed  Spirit  for  the  doing  of  it ;  nor  have  their  writings  been 
judged  by  the  common  consent  of  the  church  in  those  first  ages  of  it, 
when  they  were  so  much  better  qualified  than  we  are  now  to  judge 
of  the  divine  authority  of  these  kind  of  writings,  to  be  of  equal  dignity 
with  those  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists ;)  yet  worthy  of  a  much 
greater  respect  than  any  composures  that  have  been  made  since  ;  how- 
ever men  may  seem  to  have  afterwards  written  with  more  art,  and  to 
have  shown  a  much  greater  stock  of  human  learning  than  what  is  to 
be  found,  not  only  in  the  following  pieces,  but  even  in  the  sacred 
books  of  the  New  Testament  itself. 

24.  I  shall  add  but  one  consideration  more,  the  better  to  show  the 
true  deference  that  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  treatises  here  collected ; 
and  that  is,  sixthly,  that  they  were  not  only  written  by  such  men  as  I 

°Epist.  to  the  Philadelphians,  c.  vii.  Add  The  Martyrdom  of  Ignatius,  num.  xii. 
fcEuscb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  v.  c.  xx.  p.  153,  a.  eVid.  Dodwell.  Dissert,  in  Ircn.  Praefat. 
et  Dissert.  2.     Et  Irenamm  apud  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  loc.  cit.  p.  153. 


22  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

have  said — instructed  by  the  apostles,  and  jud^d  worthy  by  them, 
both  for  their  know  ad  their  integrity, to  govern  some  of  the 

eminent  churches  in  the  world,  and,  lastly,  endued  with  the 
irdinary  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  upon  all  these  accounts  to 
be  much  respected  bj  us — hut  were  moreover  received  by  the  church, 
in  those  first  .  pieces  thai  contained  nothing  hut  what  was 

agreeable  to  sound  doctrine,  which  could  scarcely  be   mistaken  in  it> 

judgment  of  them. 

.  The  epistle  of  St  Clement  was  along  time  read  publicly  with 
the  other  scriptures  in  the  congregations  of  the  faithful,  made  a  part 
of  their  Bible,  and  was  numbered  among  the  sacred  writings,  how- 
ever finally   separated   from   diem.     And  not  only  the   apostolical 

is,  but  our  most  ancient  Alexandrian  manuscript,  gives  the  same 
place  I  '  the  second  that  it  does  to  the  first  of  them;  and  Eprphanius, 
after  both,  tells  us  that  they  were  both  of  them  wont  to  be  read  in  the 
church  in  his  time.' 

The  epistle  of  St.  Polycarp,  wiUi  that  of  the  church  of  Smyrna, 
were  not  only  very  highly  approved  of  by  particular  persons,  but,  like 

of  St  Clement,  were  read  publicly  too  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
faidiful.  And  for  those  of  Ignatius,  besides  that  we  find  a  might) 
value  put  upon  them  by  the  Christians  of  those  times,  they  are  sealed 
to  US  by  this  character  of  St.  Polycarp  1  "  that  they  are  such  epistles 
by  which  we  may  be  greatly  profited,  for  (says  he)  they  treat  of 
faith  and  patience,  and  of  all  things  that  pertain  to  edification  in  the 
Lor. 

27.  The  epistle  of  Barnabas  is  not  only  quoted  with  great  honour 
by  those  of  the  next  age  to  him,  but  in  the  ancient  stichometry  of 
Cotelerius,'  we  find  it  placed  the  very  next  to  the  epistle  of  St.  Jude, 
and  no  difference  put  between  the  authority  of  the  one  and  the  other. 

28.  And  for  the  book  of  Hennas,  both  Eusebius  and  St.  Jerome 

tell  US  that  it  was  also  wont  to  be   read  in  the  churches.      In  the   Bam  ! 

mentioned,  it  is  placed  in  the  very  next  rank  to  the 

Id    of  the  Apostles  j  and,  in  some  of  the  mosl  ancient  manuscripts 

1         ment,  we   find   it  written   in  the  same  volume  with 

of  the  apostles  and  evangelists,  as  it'  it  had  been  esteemed 

of  the  same  value  and  authority  with  them. 

.    So  that  now,  then,  We  U1US4  either   say  that  the  church  in 

I     :    lul    of  what  was  taught   in  it   as  to   allow  Mich 
iblicly  read  in  .       ■     doctrine  win: 

did  not  approve,  "I-  we  musl  confess  that  tin-  following  pieces  a, 
livei  only  b)  die  1  lamed  men  of  the  rh  i  f  the 

ch,  b'lt  by  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful,  ining  the   pure 

•'  Anii.t.  in   l; 


SUBJECT    OF   THE    FOLLOWING   DISCOURSES.  23 

doctrine  of  Christ,  and  must  be  looked  upon  to  have  nothing  in  them 
but  what  was  then  thought  worthy  of  all  acceptation. 

30.  Now  how  much  this  adds  to  the  authority  of  these  discourses, 
may  easily  be  concluded  from  what  I  have  before  observed.  For 
since  it  is  certain  that,  in  those  times,  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  were  bestowed,  not  only  upon  the  bishops  and  pastors  of 
the  church,  (though  upon  them  in  a  more  eminent  degree,)  but  also 
upon  a  great  many  of  the  common  Christians  too— since  one  particular 
design  of  these  gifts  was  for  the  discerning  of  prophecies,  to  judge  of 
what  was  proposed  by  any  to  the  church,  or  written  for  the  use°  and 
benefit  of  it— we  cannot  doubt  but  that  what  was  universally  approved 
of  and  allowed,  not  by  a  few  learned  men,  but  by  the  whole  church  in 
those  days,— what  was  permitted  to  be  read  to  the  faithful,  for  their 
comfort  and  instruction, — must  by  this  means  have  received  the  high- 
est human  approbation,  and  ought  to  be  looked  upon  by  us,  though 
not  of  equal  authority  with  those  books  which  the  same  church  has 
delivered  to  us  as  strictly  canonical,  yet  as  standing  in  the  first  rank 
of  ecclesiastical  writings,  and  containing  the  true  and  pure  doctrine  of 
Christ  in  all  things  necessary  to  our  salvation,  without  the  mixture  of 
any  of  those  errors  which  have  since  been  so  unhappily  brought  into 
the  church,  and  have  been  worthily  censured  as  dangerous  to,  if  not 
destructive  of  it. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF   THE   SUBJECT    OF   THE   FOLLOWING   DISCOURSES,    AND   OF   THE   USE 
THAT    IS    TO    BE    MADE    OF    THEM. 

That,  in  the  following  Treatises,  there  is  delivered  to  us  a  good  account  both  of  the  Doc- 
trine and  Discipline  of  the  Church  in  the  Apostolical  times-This  shown  in  several 
Particulars— What  they  taught  concerning  God  the  Father,  our  Saviour  Christ,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost— Of  Angels  and  Spirits— Of  the  rest  of  the  Articles  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed— Concerning  the  two  Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper— Of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  Divine  Authority  of  them— What  we  meet  with  in  these 
I  realises  concerning  the  Government  of  the  Church— Of  the  necessity  of  communi- 
cating with  the  Bishops  and  Pastors  of  it— Of  Schismatics,  Heretics,  and  Apostates— 
Of  their  public  assembling  for  the  Service  of  God,  and  what  was  done  by  them  in  those 
Meetings— Of  several  other  instances  of  their  Discipline,  particularly  of  their  Facing 
and  Confession  of  Sms— Of  the  care  which  their  Bishops  had  of  the  whole  Church— 
Ol  the  respect  that  was  paid  to  them— Of  their  Martyrs,  and  the  veneration  which 
they  thought  due  to  them— Of  their  practical  Instructions,  and  how  severe  their  Mo- 
rality was,  shown  in  several  particulars— That,  upon  the  whole,  we  may  here  see  what 
the  state  of  Christianity  then  was  and  still  ought  to  be. 

1.  And  now  having  shown  in  the  foregoing  chapter  what  deference 
we  ought  to  pay  to  the  authority  of  those  holy  men,  whose  writings  I 


24  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

have  here  collected,  it  may  not  he  amiss,  in  the  third  place,  to  inquire 
what  it  is  which  they  deliver  to  us — what  account  we  find  in  them  of 
the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  church,  in  these  times  in  which  they 
lived. 

2.  It  would  be  endless  for  me  to  go  about  to  make  a  just  catalogue 
of  all  the  particulars  of  this  kind  that  occur  in  tin.-  following  pi< 

and  I  have  already,  in  a  great  measure,  performed  it  in  the  index 

which   I   have  for   that    purpose  Subjoined  to  them.      I  shall   thei 

consider  onl)  a  few  particulars,  in  such  points  as  may  seem  most 
worthy  to  be  remarked;  and  by  them  (as  by  a  shorts]  -how 

how  the  judicious  reader  may  himself  improve  it  into  a  more  particular 

j  of  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  church  in  this  first  and  purest 
period  of  it. 

3.  And,  first,  for  what  concerns  the  doctrines  of  those  times,  there 
is  hardly  any  point  that  IS  necessary  to  be  believed  or  known  by  us 
that  is  not  very  plainly  delivered  in  some  or  other  of  the  following 
piec 

4.  Here  we  may  read  what  we  are  to  believe  concerning  the 
article  of  our  creed,  God  the  Father:0  That  he  is  One,  Almighty,  In- 
visible, the  ;  and   Maker  of  all  things :  that  he  is  Omniscient, 
Immense;  neither  to   be   comprehended   within   any   bounds,  nor  so 
much  as  to  be  perfectly  conceived  by  us;  that  his  providence  is 

all  things  ;  and  that  we  can  none  of  us  flee  from  him,  or  escape  his 
knowledge  ;  that  we  are  t<>  believe  in  him,  to  fear  him,  to  love  him  ; 
and,  fearing  him,  to  abstain  from  all  eviL 

5.  If  from  thence  we  go  to  the  next  person  of  the  blessed  Trinity, 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,b  here  we  shall  find  all  that  our  creed  teaches 
us  to  profess  concerning  him,  or  that  any  Christian  need  to  believe  : — 
that  he  existed  not  only  before  he  came  into  the  world,  hut  from  all 
eternity — that  he  is  not  only  the  Son  of  God,  but  is  himself  also  God — 
that  in  the  fulness   of  time  he  took   upon  him  our   nature,  and  became 

man  ;  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was  crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate 

— that    he   Buffered   for  our  salvation,  and   was  raised   again   from   the 

dead,  not  only  by  the  power  of  the  Father,  but   by  his  own  also — that 

he  is  our  high  priest  and  protector  now,  and  shall  come  again  at  the 

end   of  the  world,  to  judge  the  whole  race  of  mankind — tli.it  there  is 

no  coming  unto  God  but  bj  him;  insomuch  that  even  the  ant 
fathers,  who  died  before  his  appearing,  weir  yet  saved  by  the  same 

means  that  we  are  nOW, 

(!.  As  for  whal  concerns  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the 
glorious  Godhead,  he  is  here  set   out  I  die  Spirit  of  God,  who 

is  glorified  and  worshipped  together  with  the   Father  and  the  5 

..  Tnm'.y. 


SUBJECT   OF   THE    FOLLOWING    DISCOURSES.  25 

(although  distinct  from  both,)  and  communicated  by  the  Son°  to  the 
prophets,  who  also  sanctifieth  and  endueth  the  faithful  with  many  gifts 
for  the  edification  of  the  church. 

7.  And  now  I  am  mentioning  the  Holy  Spirit,  let  me  add  that  we 
may  here  see  what  is  needful  to  be  known  concerning  all  the  other 
spirits6  of  an  inferior  nature, — how  the  holy  angels  minister  unto  us, 
but  especially  then  when  we  have  the  most  need  of  them,  at  the  time 
of  our  death, — and  that  though  the  devil  may  attack  us,  and  use  all 
his  arts  to  draw  us  away  from  our  duty,  yet  it  must  be  our  own  fault 
if  we  are  overcome  by  him,  and  that  therefore  we  ought  not  to  be 
afraid  of  him. 

8.  But  to  return  to  our  creed,  and  the  articles  of  it :  here  we  farther 
see  both  what  a  great  obligation  there  lies  upon  us  to  keep  up  a  com- 
munion0 of  saints  in  the  unity  of  the  church  on  earth,  and  what  is  that 
true  fellowship  that  we  ought  to  have  with  those  who  are  gone  before 
us  to  heaven :  that  it  consists  not  in  the  worship  of  any,  though  never 
so  gloriously  exalted  by  God,  but  in  love  and  remembrance;  in  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  their  excellencies ;  and  in  our  prayers  to  him,  joined 
with  hearty  endeavours  of  our  own,  to  imitate  their  perfections. 

9.  And,  whilst  we  do  this,  we  are  assured  of  the  forgiveness*  of  our 
sins,  through  the  merits  and  satisfaction  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  not 
only  of  those  which  we  committed  before  our  baptism,  but  of  all  such 
as  we  shall  chance  to  fall  into  after,  if  we  truly  repent  of  them,  except 
only  the  great  sin  of  wilfully  and  maliciously  blaspheming  God  and 
his  Holy  Spirit,  which  was  thought  to  be  hardly,  if  at  all,  remissible, 
either  in  this  world  or  in  the  other. 

10.  As  for  the  next  point,  the  resurrection  of  the  body/  it  is  not 
barely  asserted,  but  is  at  large  proved  too,  in  the  following  discourses. 
There  we  are  told,  not  only  that  there  shall  be  a  future  resurrection, 
but  a  resurrection  of  the  flesh, — that  we  shall  be  raised  in  the  very- 
same  bodies  in  which  we  go  down  into  the  grave, — and  that,  being 
raised,  we  shall  be  judged  by  Christ,  according  to  our  works,  and 
be  either  unspeakably  rewarded,  or  exceedingly  punished,  to  all 
eternity. J 

11.  If  from  the  articles  of  our  creed  we  go  on  to  the  holy  sacrament " 
of  the  church,  here  we  have  set  out  to  us  the  great  benefit  of  our  bap- 
tism, and  of  what  a  mighty  concern  it  is  to  us  in  the  business  of  our 
salvation.  And,  for  the  other  sacrament,  here  we  are  taught  that  the 
elements  of  bread  and  wine"  are  the  same  (as  to  their  substance)  after 
consecration,  that  they  Were  before ;  and  are  only  in  a  spiritual  sense 

°  See  Mart.  Ignat.  sec.  14.  Polyc.  sec.  14,22.  b  See  Index,  Angel,  Devil.  cSec 
Index,  Peace,  Unity,  Martyrs,  Rcliijucs,  Sec.  d  See  Index,  Repentance.  eSce  Index, 
Resurrection,        /See  Index,  Punishment.  s  Sec  Index,  Sacrament,  Baptism.        h  See 

Index,  Transubstantiation. 

4  C 


2b  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

the  flesh  and  blood  of  our  Saviour  Christ,  by  the  participation  of  which 
we  shall  be  immortalized,  and  live  for  ever. 

12.  And  lastly,  for  thai  great,  comprehensive  point  of  our  religion, 
(he  foundation  of  our  faith,  the  holy  scriptures,*  here  we  may  sec  what 
opinion  the  holy  men  had  of  the  divine  inspiration  of  diem,  what  i 

ence  they  paid  to  them,  and   how  they  looked    upon  them  to  contain 

the  true  words  of  the  Holy  ( < 

13.  Such  is  the  doctrine  of  faith  that  is  here  delivered  to  as.  If 
from  thence  we  pass,  secondly,  to  what  concerns  the  public  order  and 

;un»-nt  of  the  church,  in  the  first  establishment  of  it,  here  we  may 

I   what  persons'  it  was  directed,  and  how  exactly  our  own  church 

does  in  this  particular  resemble  the  primitive,  perhaps  beyond  any 

other  at    this  day   in  the  world,  in  the  apostolical  orders   of  bishops, 

its,  and  deacons. 

1  l.  How  necessarily  they  esteemed  it  their  duty  to  keep  up  a  strict 
communion*  with  these  governors,  and  how  little  they  thought  the  very 

name  of  the  church  could  belong  to  those  who  separated  fifom  them, 
we  are  here  likewise  taught.  And,  how  light  soever  some  may  make 
of  the  business  of  schism'  now,  yet  it  is  plain  these  holy  men  had  a 
very  different  apprehension  of  it,  and  hardly  thought  that  such  could 

be  saved  as  continued  in  it. 

15.   And  the  same,  or  rather  much  worse,  was  their  Opinion  of  here- 

ad  apostates:'  to  the  latter  of  which,  as  thej  seem  even  to  have 

denied  repentance,  if  that  apostasy  was  joined  with  blasphemy,  so  it  is 

manifest  that,  without  it,  they  thought  the  others  must  perish.  And  in 
the  mean  time  they  declare  that  we  ought  not  to  have  any  communica- 
tion with  them  :  onl)  we  must  pray  for  them,  that  they  may  be  con- 
verted,  which  yet  they  supposed  would  be  very  hard. 

1<>.   As  for  those  who  continued  in  the  doctrine  and  communi 
the  church/  here  we  may  see  how  zealous  they  were   in  attendi'i 
the  public  offices  of  it, — how  constantly  they  assembled  togethi 
tic  worship  of  God,  notwithstanding  all  the  malice  and  fury  <<l°  their 
enemi  si  them  upon  the  account  of  it.     Here  we  ma\  observe 

how,  from  tin-  beginning,  they  had  their  set  times  and  places  of  wor- 
ship, and  how  they  looked  upon  such  oil'ritories  both  a>  more  a. 
able  unto  God  and  more  prevalent  with  him  than  anv  pri\  ate  add- 
that  the)  could  make  to  him. 

1".    In  these  assemblies  they  not  only  put  up   their   p: 

[SO  the   holy  Sacrament*  of  the  Lord's   Supper;   and  in 

th.it  part  of  tic-  service  none  officiated  but  either  the  bishop  hims 
-    ippointed,  or  allowed  of,  by  him. 

—  ' 

. 
'  -.  e  Index,  //• 

Itllll  .     ' 


SUBJECT    OF   THE    FOLLOWING    DISCOURSES.  27 

18.  For  this  purpose  they  had  in  every  such  place  of  their  assembling 
one  table  or  altar,  upon  which  their  oblations  were  presented  to  God 
by  the  bishops  and  priests  ;a  and  they  communicated  after  the  same 
manner  that  our  Saviour  Christ  had  set  them  the  example — that  is  to 
say,  both  of  the  consecrated  bread  and  wine ;  and  the  former  taken 
from  one  common  loaf,  which  was  broken  and  distributed  to  them,  not 
in  little,  separate,  and  unbroken  wafers,  as  some  now  do. 

19.  Nor  was  this  all ;  in  these  assemblies  the  Holy  Scriptures  were 
read  to  them ;  and,  as  I  have  before  shown,  some  of  the  very  treatises 
I  have  here  subjoined,  together  with  them :  and  the  bishop  himself 
instructed  the  people,  and  expounded  the  doctrine  of  Christ  to  them." 

20.  By  the  bishop  were  the  Christians  blessed,  and  joined  together 
in  the  holy  state  of  matrimony  :c  and  indeed  without  him  was  nothing- 
done  of  all  that  pertained  unto  religion. 

21.  In  those  times  the  clergy11  were  married  as  well  as  laity;  nor 
do  we  find  it  esteemed  the  least  scandal  for  them  so  to  be. 

22.  Here  we  may  see  what  the  ancient  manner  of  fasting'  was,  and 
what  was  thought  requisite  to  render  such  exercises  acceptable  to  God 
and  profitable  to  our  own  souls. 

23.  In  short,  here  we  may  perceive  what  their  opinion  was  of  re- 
pentance for  sins/  and  how  hardly  they  thought  of  those  who  were 
still  repenting  and  yet  still  continued  to  sin  on,  notwithstanding  their 
frequent  repentance.  But,  especially,  here  we  are  told  that  we  must 
finish  our  repentance  before  we  die,  for  that  there  is  no  place  for  re- 
pentance after. 

24.  And  though  they  prescribed  confession-  as  one  act  of  repent- 
ance, and  necessary  to  be  performed  in  order  to  our  forgiveness,  yet 
we  find  no  confession  mentioned  to  be  made  to  any  but  to  God  only, 
which  therefore  seems  to  intimate  to  us  that  they  accounted  that  alone 
to  have  been  sufficient. 

25.  But  the  care  of  their  bishops"  in  those  first  times  was  not  con- 
fined within  the  narrow  bounds  of  their  own  churches,  but  extended 
to  all  the  faithful,  wheresoever  they  were :  and  they  were  still  ready  to 
look  to  those  who  were  at  the  greatest  distance  from  them,  whenever 
they  thought  their  advice  or  authority  might  be  either  useful  to  them 
or  for  the  honour  and  benefit  of  their  religion. 

26.  From  this,  and  from  the  general  piety  and  excellence  of  their 
lives,1  joined  to  the  greatness  of  their  character  in  the  church,  came 
that  mighty  respect  that  was  paid  to  the  bishops  in  those  days ;  and 
how  great  it  was,  the  following  treatises  abundantly  show. 

°  Ignat.  Epist.  to  the  Ephes.  sec.  5.  fc  Ignat.  Mart.  sec.  2.  £See  Index,  Maniac;*', 
Bishop.  dSee    Index,    Priest.  eSee  Index,  Fast.         /See  Index,   Repentance. 

ffSee  Index,   Confession.         '•See  Ignatius's  Epistles  and   Martyrdom,  &c.         'See 
Index,  Bishop. 


28  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

27.  But  much  greater  was  their  veneration  for  those  who  not  only 
governed  well,  and  adorned  their  hoi)  profession  by  an  exemplary  life, 
but  confirmed  the  trdth  of  it  with  their  blood.'  They  are  indeed  of 
opinion  that  no  man  ought  causelessl)  to  expoM  himself  unto  sufier- 

bul    if  God  calhd  BA)  cue   to    it,  they  doubted  QOt  but   that  our 

Saviour  Christ  would  both  support  him  in  bis  conflicts  and  most 
gloriously  reward  him  lor  the  enduring  of  them.     1 1  -heir 

opinion  that  martyrdom  blotted  out  all  .sins, — that  they  who  sufl 
tor  the  faith  should  have  a  degree  of  glory  peculiar  to  themselves, 
above  all  other  saints  in  God's  kingdom;  and,  when  God  showed 
such  regard  for  them,  they  concluded  that  they  could  never  do  en 
to  testify  their  respect  to  them. 

28.  To  this  we  must  ascribe  the  care  they  took  to  gather  up  their 
remains, ■  the  honour  which  they  paid  to  them,  and  the  solemnities  with 
which  the)  deposited  them  in  the  earth ;  hence  came  their  cue 
which  we  here  find,  of  writing  down  the  particulars  of  their  conflicts, 
and  sending  them  abroad  to  the  churches  round  about ;  hence  their 
anniversary  meetings  at  their  tombs  and  monuments,  where  they  re- 
cited the  acts  of  their  martyrdoms,  and  sometimes  made  express  dis- 
courses in  praise  of  their  martyrs,  and  to  exhort  one  another  to  the 

instancy. 

But,  not  to  insist  any  longer  upon  these  particulars,  there  is  yet 
a  third  sort  of  matters  contained  in  these  discourses,  and  those  of  no 
than  either  of  the  foregoing,  and  that  is  the  practical  rules 
of  life  that  are  here  delivered  to  us. 

.    1  lire  we  may  see  what  care  we  are  to  take,  not  only  not  to  sin' 
,  but,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  not  to  let  any  that  belong  to  us  con- 
tinue in  sin,  lest  we  also  become  partakers  of  their  evil  doings. 

31.  Ibre  we  are  taught  not  only  to  have  a  care  of  our  words  and 
actions/  but  of  our  very  thoughts  and  desires,  which  must  not  be  in- 
dulged in  any  instances  of  sin,  nor  be  Buffered,  if  it  be  possible,  to 
wander  on  any  thing  that  is  in  the  least  measure  wanton  or  irregular. 

.    It  we  will  hearken  to  these   holy  men,  we   must   learn  not  only 
to  do  the  will  of  ( rod,  but,  if  it  be  his  pleasure,  must  prepare  our  minds 

to  endure  patiently  whatever  he  shall  think  fit  to  lay  upon  us.     We 

must  consider  that  troubles  and  afflictions  ith  to 

punish  us  for  our  sins  and  as  monitors  to  draw  us  oil' from  them. 

To  Convince  US  the  more  effectually  of  this,  we  are  lure  shown 

then  of  riches/ especially  where  men's  be:  in  any 

degree  set  upon  them,  and  how  very  hardly  such  persons  shall  be 

Id   make  of  our  abum! 


rlyrs. 
V'lB.1 


SUBJECT    OF    THE    FOLLOWING    DISCOURSES.  29 

that  so  it  may  not  prove  a  snare  to  us ;  but  especially  we  are  shown 
the  great  advantage  of  almsgiving  to  this  end,  and  what  mighty  en- 
gagements there  lie  upon  us  to  the  practice  of  it. 

34.  And  then,  as  for  our  lives,  we  are  here  told  that  a  Christian" 
must  not  only  be  good,  but  exemplary ;  he  must  show  the  truth  of  his 
profession  by  a  suitable  conversation,  and  be  known  by  his  actions 
rather  than  by  his  words. 

35.  He  must  pray  for  all  men,  even  for  his  enemies ;  nay,  for  the 
very  enemies  of  the  church,  for  heretics  and  schismatics,  for  those  of 
whom  there  is  but  little  hope  that  they  will  ever  come  to  repentance, 
or  that  God  will  give  them  grace  so  to  do. 

36.  He  must  be  kind  and  charitable  to  all  men,  free  from  envy  and 
contention  ;  he  must  neither  raise  any  differences  among  his  brethren, 
nor  follow  any  in  the  doing  of  it.  To  this  end  he  must  carefully  ob- 
serve those  duties  which  relate  to  his  neighbour,  as  well  as  those  he  is 
to  pay  to  God.  He  must  obey  magistrates,  must  respect  the  aged, 
must  have  a  due  regard  to  all  men.  Is  he  a  husband,  a  parent,  or  a 
child  ?  He  must  be  sure  to  exercise  himself  in  the  several  duties  be- 
coming those  several  relations.  In  short,  in  the  following  writings  we 
may  see— in  all  the  parts  of  our  duty  towards  God,  our  neighbour, 
and  ourselves— what  we  are  to  do,  and  what  to  avoid;  and  are  assured 
that  God  both  sees  all  our  actions  now,  and  will  reward  or  punish  us 
for  them  hereafter  to  all  eternity. 

37.  And  thus  have  I  given  a  short  prospect  of  what  is  more  largely 
contained  in  the  following  collection.  I  need  not  say  either  how  use- 
ful a  variety  of  "matter  it  is,  or  how  worthy  to  be  known  by  all  of  us  ; 
but  sure  I  am,  whosoever  shall  take  the  pains  impartially  to  compare 
what  is  here  found  with  the  sacred  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  he 
may  be  able,  both  with  clearness  and  certainty,  to  understand  what- 
ever is  requisite  to  his  eternal  salvation,  and  that  with  much  more  satis- 
faction, and  security  too,  than  from  many  volumes  of  our  later  writers, 
who,  for  the  most  part,  spend  a  great  deal  of  time,  and  take  much 
pains,  to  obscure,  rather  than  explain,  the  most  easy  and  intelligible 
points  of  our  religion. 


See  Index,  Christian. 


c2 


30  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 


CHAI'TKK   V. 

0]    Til:  WHICH  THESE    DISK  kBE    wiuiTKN,  AM) 

Tin:   simi  i.k  1 1  i    01   BTI  i.i.    i  BED    in    THEM. 

Th;it  ti  I  BO  -.ill"  .i.ilion   of  1 1  uniaii  Eloquence,  but  6*4  I 

tlicinsrhrs  with  tlif  gfOtea)    ri:iniii<>-   tlint  they  wrrr  ;i!-l< ■. — ThU  DMODfll  ef  writing 

the  beat,  and  moil  proper,  fbi  [Detraction. — A  ehori  Aoooanl  of  the  Oceaaioa  of  the 

nt  Collection,  and  tiir  Traneletion  thai  in  here  made  of  the  following 

1.  There  is  yet  one  thing  to  be  observed  by  me  with  reference  to 
Liscourses  here  subjoined,  and  that  is,  fourthly,  concerning  the 
manner  after  which  they  are  written,  and  that  true  primitive  simplicity 
which  appears  in  all  the  parts  of  them. 

•J.  It  is  one  property  of  troth  that,  as  it  does  not  need  any  disgi 
SO  neither  docs  it  seek,  by  any  fain  ornaments  of  human  eloquence,  to 
■  &  mmend  itself  to  the  approbation  of  those  to  whom  it  is  tend' 
When  the  apostles  preached  the  gospel  to  the  world,  they  did  it  not 
«  with  excellency  of  speech,  nor  with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom, 
but  in  the  demonstration  of  spirit  and  of  power;"  they  gave  such  con- 
vincing proofs  of  their  divine  mission,  as  forced  all  indifferent  persons 
to  acknowledge  their  authority  ;  and  they  thought  it,  after  that,  too 
mean  B  thing  to  endeavour  to  catch  men's  ears,  when,  without  any 
such  arts,  they  had  before  captivated  their  reason,  and  forced  them  to 
confess  the  truth  of  what  they  delivered. 

3.  And  the  same  was  the  method  of  those  holy  fathers  who  succeeded 

them  :  they  knew  the  excellency  of  their  doctrine,  and  the  mighty  in- 
fluence which  the  revelations  it  made  of  the  future  state  would  be  sure 
t<>  have  upon  the  minds  of  all  considering  men;  and  therefore  they 
ated  themselves  to  lay  these  things  before  them  in  a  plain  and 
simple  manner,  and  yet  with  such  efficacy  and  power  as  surpassed  all 
the  rhetoric  in  the  world;  "for,"  indeed,  ''the  kingdom  of  God  IS 
not  in  word,  hut  in  power,"  1  Cor.  iv.  20. 

4.  Let  not,  then,  the  reader  be  surprised,  if  in  the  following  dis- 
coui  rith  nunc  of  those  ornaments  that  are  wont  to  recom- 
mend the  writings  rusal ;  but  rather  let  him  consider 

that  he  has  heir  to  do  with  men   who   were  above  BUCh  B  care.      Their 

busiin  ss  was  to  instruct,  not  to  please,-   to  bj  eak  to  men's  hearts  and 
consciences,  not  to  their  fancies;  and  they  knew  that  this  is  evermore 

best  done  bj  B  plain  and  natural  discourse,  bj  Solid  rides  and  sul 

tial    motiveSf  not    by   Vain   words,  which,  if  they    satisfy  a  man   at   the 

•  i  t3  yel  seldom  leave  an)  lasting  impression  behind  them. 

5.  But  oft!.'  i  f  die  folli  we  arses 
themselvi   .  I   I                         h — perhsj                                   ;•    .  1 


STYLE    OF    THE    FOLLOWING    DISCOURSES.  31 

think,  no  more  than  what  was  necessary  to  prepare  the  English  reader, 
for  whom  I  am  now  chiefly  concerned,  to  a  useful  perusal  of  them. 
As  for  the  present  collection,  I  shall  only  say  thus  much — that  it  is  the 
first  of  this  kind  that  has  been  set  forth  in  our  owrn  language  ;  nor  were 
the  greatest  part  of  the  following  pieces  ever  (that  I  know  of)  before 
translated  into  it. 

6.  I  confess,  when  I  consider  the  great  usefulness  of  such  a  work, 
and  the  high  esteem  which  not  only  the  ancient  fathers,  but  the  most 
learned  of  all  ages,  have  had  of  the  treatises  here  collected  together,  I 
have  sometimes  wondered  that,  among  so  many  things  as  have  of  late 
been  set  forth  in  the  English  tongue,  none  has  hitherto  undertaken  such 
a  task  as  this.  But,  when  I  came  to  the  trial,  I  soon  found  out  wThat 
may,  perhaps,  have  been  one  reason  of  it ;  for  indeed,  could  I  have 
foreseen  the  difficulty  of  the  wTork,  I  much  question  whether  I  should 
ever  have  been  persuaded  to  go  about  it.  And  this  I  say,  not  to  mag- 
nify any  thing  that  I  have  done,  wThich  I  have  too  much  reason  to  fear 
will  be  far  from  deserving  any  great  commendation,  but  to  suggest  an 
apology  for  whatever  defects  those  of  greater  leisure,  more  health,  and 
better  abilities,  shall  chance  to  find  in  it ;  notwithstanding  all  the  care 
I  have  taken  to  guess  aright  at  the  intention  of  my  authors,  and  to  de- 
liver what,  upon  the  best  examination  I  could  make,  I  took  to  be  their 
meaning. 

7.  I  need  not  say  any  thing  to  convince  those  who  are  at  all  ac- 
quainted wTith  these  matters,  and  who  are  alone  the  competent  judges 
of  the  present  performance,  how  hard  oftentimes  it  is,  with  the  help  of 
the  best  copies,  to  hit  upon  the  true  meaning  of  an  author  that  lived  so 
many  ages  since  as  those  I  have  here  collected ;  and  what  great  de- 
fects, in  many  places,  there  are  in  the  copies  which  I  have  here  been 
forced  to  make  use  of,  is  not  unknown  to  them.  But,  however,  I  am 
not  aware  of  any  great  errors  that  I  have  committed ;  and  am  in  some 
hope  that,  in  this  edition  of  these  treatises,  I  have  nowhere  very  much, 
nor  at  all  dangerously,  mistaken  the  meaning  of  those  holy  men  whose 
sense  I  have  undertaken  to  represent. 

8.  This  I  am  sure  of,  that  my  design,  in  this  whole  undertaking, 
was  to  minister  the  best  I  could  to  the  interests  of  truth  and  piety  ;  and 
I  thought  myself,  at  this  time,  the  rather  obliged  to  do  it  from  the  press, 
in  that  it  has  pleased  God,  in  some  measure,  to  take  me  off  from  the 
ability  of  doing  it  from  the  pulpit. 

9.  If  it  shall  be  asked  how  I  came  to  choose  the  drudgery  of  a  trans- 
lator, rather  than  the  more  ingenious  part  of  publishing  somewhat  of 
my  own  composing,  it  was,  in  short,  this :  because  I  hoped  that  such 
writings  as  these  would  find  a  more  general  and  unprejudiced  accept- 
ance, with  all  sorts  of  men,  than  any  thing  that  could  be  written  by 
any  one  now  living,  who,  if  esteemed  by  some,  is  yet  in  danger  of 


32  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

being  despised  by  more,  whose  prejudice  to  his  person  will  not  suffer 
them  to  reap  any  benefit  bj  any  thing,  though  never  so  useful,  that, 
can  come  from  him;  whilst  .such  tracts  as  these  may  possibly  receive 
a  general  respect  from  all  sorts  of  persons,  and  meet  not  only  with  an 
entertainment,  but  an  esteem,  too,  from  all. 

10.  These  were  the  motives  that  first  induced  me  to  set  about  this 
work,  in  the  reasonableness  <<t  which  should  I  chance  to  be  mistaken, 
yet  I  cannot  but  persuade  myself  that  the  honesty  of  my  intentions  will 
excuse  me  to  all  indifferent  persons.  Let  others,  then,  to  whom  God 
riven  better  opportunities  and  greater  abilities,  serve  tin-  church  in 
better  and  higher  performances.  It  shall  suffice  me  in  any  way  to 
minister  to  the  souls  of  men;  and  if,  by  this  present  undertaking,  I 
shall  but  in  any  measure  have  contributed  to  the  reviving  a  true  BenSf 
of  piety  and  devotion  among  us, — and,  especially,  to  the  disposing  of 
any  number  of  men  to  consider  more  seriously  the  fatal  consequences 
of  our  present  divisions,  and  to  labour,  what  in  them  lies,  towards  the 
composing  of  them, — I  shall  heartily  bless  God,  both  that  he  first 
prompted  me  to  undertake  this  troublesome  task,  and  has  since  enabled 
me,  though  amidst  many  infirmities,  to  go  through  with  it. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 

ON    THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    ST.    CLEMENT    TO    THE    CORINTHIANS. 

Of  the  value  which  the  Ancients  put  upon  this  Epistle — Of  <SY.  Clement  himself,  who  was 
the  author  of  it — That  it  was  the  same  Clement  of  whom  St.  Paul  speaks,  Phil.  iv.  3. 
— Of  his  Conversion  to  Christianity — When  he  became  Bishop  of  Rome,  as  also 
whether  he  suffered  Martyrdom,  uncertain — Of  the  occasion  of  his  writing  this  Epistle 
.  and  the  two  main  parts  of  it — Of  the  time  when  it  was  written — That  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  but  that  the.  Epistle  we  now  have  was  truly  written  by  St.  Clement — 
The  objection  of  Tentzelius  against  it  of  no  force — How  this  Epistle  was  first  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Patrick  Young ;  and  translated  by  Mr.  Burton  into  English — Of  the 
present  edition  of  it. 

1.  The  first  tract  which  begins  this  collection,  and  perhaps  the  most 
worthy  too,  is  that  admirable,  or,  as  some  of  the  ancients  have  called 
it,  that  "  wonderful  epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians,"11  which 
he  wrote,  not  in  his  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  the  whole  church 
of  Rome,  to  them, — an  epistle  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  primitive 
church  that  we  are  told  it  was  wont  to  be  publicly  read  in  the  assem- 
blies of  it  ;b  and  if  we  may  credit  one  of  the  ancient  collections  of  the 
canon  of  Scripture,0  it  was  placed  among  the  sacred  and  inspired  writ- 
ings. Nor  is  it  any  small  evidence  of  the  value  which  in  those  days 
was  put  upon  this  epistle,  that  in  the  only  copy  which,  for  aught  we 
know,  at  this  day  remains  of  it,  we  find  it  to  have  been  written  in  the 
same  volume  with  the  books  of  the  New  Testament/  which  seems  to 
confirm  what  was  before  observed  concerning  it,  that  it  was  heretofore 
wont  to  be  read  in  the  congregations  together  with  the  Holy  Scriptures 
of  the  apostles  and  evangelists. 

2.  But  of  the  epistle  itself  I  shall  take  occasion  to  speak  more  par- 
ticularly by  and  by.  It  will  now  be  more  proper  to  inquire  a  little 
into  the  author  of  it,  and  consider  when  and  upon  what  occasion  it 
was  written  by  him. 

3.  And  first,  for  what  concerns  the  person  who  wrote  this  epistle,  it 
is  no  small  commendation  which  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  St.  Paul,  has  left 
us  of  him,  Phil.  iv.  3,  where  the  apostle  mentions  him,  not  only  as  his 
fellow-labourer  in  the  work  of  the  gospel,  but  as  one  whose  name  was 
written  in  the  book  of  life — a  character  which,  if  we  will  allow  our 
Saviour  to  be  the  judge,  far  exceeds  that  of  the  highest  power  and 
dignity,  and  who,  therefore,  when  his  disciples  began  to  rejoice  upon 
the  account  of  that  authority  which  he  had  bestowed  upon  them,  inso- 
much that  "  even  the  devils  were  subject  unto  them,"  (Luke  x.  17,) 

°  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  cap.  16.         b  Idem,  lib.  iii.  can.  19.         c  Canon.  Apostol. 
Can.  ult.        d  MS.  Alex. 

5  33 


34  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

though  lie  seemed  to  allow  that  mere  was  a  just  matter  of  joy  in  such 
an  extraordinary  power,  yet  bade  them  not  to  rejoice  so  much  in  this, 
mat  those  spirits  were  subject  unto  them,  "but  rather,"  says  he, 
"rejoice  mat  your  names  arc  written  in  the  book  of  life.91 

4.  It  is  indeed  insinuated  by  a  late  \  cry  learned  critic-  as  if  this 
were  not  that  Clement  of  whom  we  an-  now  discoursing,  and  whose 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians  1  have  here  .subjoined.  Hut,  besides  that  he 
himself  confesses  thai  the  person  of  whom  St.  Paul  then 

Roman,  both  Eusebius  and  Epiphanius,  and  St.  Hierome,"  expressly 

tell  us  that  the  Clement  there  meant  was  the  same  that  was  afterwards 
bishop  (.f  Rome;  nor  do  we  read  of  any  other  to  whom  either  the 
character  there  mentioned,  of  being  the  fellow-labourer  of  that  apostle, 
or  the  eulogy  given  of  having  his  name  "written  in  the  book  of  life,1' 
could  so  properly  belong,  as  to  him;  whom  therefore  the  generality 
of  learned  men,  both  of  the  ancient  and  present  times,  without  scruple 
conclude  to  have  been  referred  to  in  that  passage. 

5.  I  shall  not  say  any  thing  of  what  is  reported  by  somec  concerning 
his  noble  birth  and  family,  of  his  studies  at  Athens,  and  of  the  occa- 
sion and  manner  of  his  conversion  to  Christianity,  which  they  tell  us 
was  wrought  by  St.  Peter,  whom  he  met  with  Barnabas  at  Csesarea, 
and  who  mere  first  declared  to  him  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  inclined 
him  to  ;i  good  opinion  of  it:  all  which  is  very  uncertain,  and  justly 
doubted  of  by  many.  I  shall  choose  rather  to  observe  that,  whatever 
his  condition  was  before  he  became  a  Christian,  he  was  held  in  no 
small  reputation  after,  but  merited  such  a  character  from  the  ancient 
fathers  as  is  bardl)  given  to  any  besides  the  apostles.  Nay,  Borne  of 
them  doubt  not  in  plain  terms  to  call  him  an  apostle  ;d  and,  though  St. 
Hierome  durst  not  go  so  far  as  that,  yet  he  gives  him  another  title  but 
little  short  of  it  ;  he  tells  us  that  he  was  an  "apostolical  man,"'  and, 
as  Rumnus  adds,  "almost  an  apostle."' 

6.  To  declare  more  particularly  how  he  spent  the  first  part  of  his 
life,  aftei  his  conversion,  is  neither  necessary  to  the  design  I  have  now 
in  hand,  nor  can  any  certain  account  be  given  of  it,  only,  as  we  are 
told  in  the  general  that  lie  was  St.  Peter's  disciple,  so  it  may  not  be 
improbable  thai  for  some  time  he  attended  his  motions  and  was  sub- 
ject to  his  direction. 

7.  Hut  whatever   he  was,  or  wherever   he  laboured  before,  in  this  I 

think  antiquity  i^  absolutely  agreed,  that  he  at  last  came  to  be  bishop 
of  Rome,  and  was  placed  m  thai  see  by  the  express  direction  o[  one 


■Grot  AniK.t.  in  rtul.  iv.  :i.        MaiM-l..  Hi  •    E  lib.  iii.  cap.  IS.     Epiph.  lil».  i. 

adv.  Carpocr.  n.  6.     Hieronym.  da  8eript  !■'«■•  !•■•«..  <t  Comment,  in  Inc.     Item,  Kb.  i.  ady. 
J. >mii.  l'tiutii  Cod.  mem.  118, Aec.        ■Vid.  Eucher.  Lodg.  da  Contempt 
Chron.  Ubart.  Btad.  inter  Teetimooai    »  Jania  oilata.        'Clem.  Alex  Btraa,  Kb.  W. 
*JIi«  ron.  in  [eaiam,  e.  ">-.        '  1><  Adohi 


of  st.  Clement's  first  epistle.  35 

or  both  the  apostles,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  To  whom  he  succeeded, 
or  at  what  time  to  fix  his  entrance  on  that  great  charge,  is  a  point  that 
I  suppose  will  never  be  agreed  upon  amcng  learned  men.  If  any 
could  have  settled  this  matter  beyond  dispute,  it  had  without  question 
been  done  by  those  of  our  own  nation,"  who  as  they  have  the  latest 
searched  with  all  possible  diligence  into  it,  so  never  were  there  any 
better  qualified  for  the  determination  of  it.  But  as  their  mutual  dis- 
agreement," after  all  their  endeavours  to  fix  this  point,  shows  that  one 
of  them  must  have  been  mistaken,  so  I  doubt  not  but  it  will  suffi- 
ciently satisfy  all  such  as  shall  consider  the  high  character  they  have 
so  justly  obtained,  both  by  their  learning  and  judgment  in  this  kind 
of  disquisitions,  that  they  are  points  not  to  be  determined,  and  that  he 
who  shall  do  the  best  upon  them  may  only  be  said  to  have  made  a 
good  guess,  in  a  subject  too  hard  for  any  at  this  distance  clearly  to 
decide.0 

8.  Nor  is  there  any  less  controversy,  among  learned  men,  concern- 
ing the  death  of  St.  Clement,  than  there  has  been  about  the  order  and 
time  of  his  succession  to  his  bishopric.  That  he  lived  in  expectation 
of  martyrdom,  and  was  ready  to  have  undergone  it  should  it  have 
pleased  God  to  have  called  him  to  it,  the  epistle  we  are  now  speaking 
of  sufficiently  shows  us.d  But  that  he  did  glorify  God  by  those  par- 
ticular sufferings  which  some  have  pretended,  is,  I  confess,  to  me  a 
matter  of  some  doubt.  For,  first,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
Ruffinus6  is  one  of  the  first  authors  we  have  that  speak  of  him  as  a 
martyr.  Neither  Eusebius/  (who  is  usually  very  exact  in  his  observa- 
tion of  such  things)  nor  any  of  the  fathers  yet  nearer  his  time,  as 
Irenseus,  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  Tertullian,  &c,  take  any  notice  of 
it.  And  for  the  account  which  some  others  have  yet  more  lately  given 
us  of  the  manner  of  his  death,  besides  that  in  some  parts  it  is  alto- 
gether fabulous,  it  is  not  improbable  but  that,  as  our  learned  Mr.  Dod- 
well  has  observed/  the  first  rise  of  it  may  have  been  owing  to  their 
confounding  Flavius  Clemens,  the  Roman  consul,  with  Clement,  bishop 
of  Rome  ;  who  did  indeed  suffer  martyrdom7'  for  the  faith  about  the 
time  of  which  they  speak,  and  some  other  parts  of  whose  character, 
such  as  his  relation  to  the  emperor  and  banishment  unto  Pontus,  they 
manifestly  ascribe  to  him. 

9.  However,  seeing  Eusebius  refers  his  death  to  the  third  year  of 
Trajan,1  famous  for  the  persecution  of  the  church,  and  may  thereby 

0  Pearson.  Disscrt.de  Success,  prim.  RR.  PP.  cum  Append.  Hen.  Dodwelli.  Pearson. 
Dissert.    Posthum.    cap.   v.  num.   7.  'Dodwelli   Dissert,   singnl.    cap.    xv.  p.  220. 

cIbid.  cap.  xi.  p.  151.         dCIem.  Epistle  to  the  Corinth,  num.  viL  'IV  Adalterat. 

lib.  Orig.  /Hist.  Ecclcs.  lib.  iii.  c.  34.  « Dodwelli  Addit.  ad  cap.  vi.  Dissert. 
Posthum.  Pearson,  num.  22,  p.  215.  *  Vide  Euseb.  Chron.  Anno  xevii.  l]t  in  I"  <  b. 
Annot.  Scab?,  p.  205,  b.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  cap.  18.  «'  Euseb.  Hist.  Eecles. 
lib.  iii.  cap.  34. 


36  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

I  to  insinuate  that  Clem  then  suffered  among  the  pert, — 

and  that  Simeon  M  I  ren  a  long  and  particular  account 

of  his  condemnation/  to  the  mines  first,  and  then  of  Ins  death  follow- 
ing thereupon, — as  I  shall  not  determine  any  thing  it,  so  they 
who  are  desirous  to  know  what  is  usually  said  concerning  tl 
of  this  holy  man,  may  abundantly  satisfy  their  curiosity  in  this  par- 
ticularfrom  the  accurate  collection  of  Dr.  Cave,  in  the  life  of  this  saint, 
too  long  to  be  transcribed  into  the  present  discoui 

l<>.  And  this  may  suffice  to  have  been  observed,  in  short,  concern- 
St  Clemenl  himself.    As  for  the  epistle  we  are  now  sj  eakii 

to  the  Corinthians,  I  have  already  taken  notice  how  great  a  value  W8£ 
upon  it  in  die  most  primitive  ages  of  the  church,  and  what  a 
mighty  commendation  has  been  left  us  of  it  by  the  writers  of  thoa 
limes.  Nor  indeed  does  it  at  all  come  short  of  the  highest  praises 
which  th»y  have  given  to  n  ;  being  a  piece  composed  with  such  an 
admirable  spirit  of  love  and  charity,  of  zeal  towards  God  and  of  con- 
cern for  the  church  of  Christ,  of  the  most  excellent  exhortations,  de- 

d  with  the  greatest  plainness  and  simplicity  of  speech,  an 
i  d  many  times  with  such  moving  eloquence  too,  that  I  cannot 

imagine  what  could  have  been  desired  in  such  an  epistle  more  proper 
for  the  end  for  which  it  was  composed,  what  could  have  been  written 
more  becoming  an  apostolical  age,  and  the  pen  of  one  of  the  most 
eminent  bishops  of  it. 

11.  But,  that  it  maybe  the  better  understood  by  those  who  shall 
now  think  fit  to  peruse  it,  there  are  a  few  things  which  it  will  be  ne- 

r  me,  in  this  place,  to  observe  concerning  it. 

12.  And  the  first  is,  the  occasion  that  was  given  for  the  writing 
thk  epistle;  for,  however  we  have  no  particular  account  what  it  was. 

ia\  we,  from  the  subject  of  it,  give  a  very  probable   gues 
it.      When  St  Paul  wrote  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  two 
"things  dial  seemed  to  hai  tally  called  for  it  were,  first. 

the  divisions  of  that  church  upon  the  account  of  their  teachers,  am'. 
through  their  vain  conceit  of  (heir  ow  and,  secondly. 

the  great  mistake  thai  \\.^  getting  in  among  them  concerning  the 
nature  of  the  future  resurrection.     And  however  die  apostle,  by  jus 

Writing  and  authority,  did  for  the  present    put  a  Stop  to  the   on-'. 
■mm  right  as  to  the  other,  yet  it  B  r  his  death,  they  I 

again  to  fall  not  only  into  the  same  contentions,  hut  into  the  sam< 

error  tOO,  that  bad  Caused  them  so  much  trouble  before. 

L3.    NOW,   this    gave   occasion    to    St.  Clemenl  to  write  the   pr< 

epistle  to  them,  in  which,  having  first  taken  notice  of  die  rise  of 
new  seditions  thai  were  broken  out  among  them,  and  exhorted  them 


0  Apod  Cote] 


OF    ST.    CLEMENT  S    FIRST    EPISTLE.  37 

to  a  Christian  composure  of  them,  he  in  the  next  place  goes  on,  by 
many  arguments,  to  establish  the  undoubted  truth  and  certainty  of 
the  future  resurrection,  which  was  the  other  thing  in  which  St.  Paul 
had  before  observed  them  to  have  been  greatly  and  dangerously  mis- 
taken. 

14.  This  then  was  the  occasion,  and  is  the  main  subject  and  design 
of  the  following  epistle.  But  now  about  what  time  it  was  written  is 
not  so  easy  to  determine.  Junius"  supposes  it  was  written  by  St.  Cle- 
ment, in  the  name  of  the  church  of  Rome,  about  two  years  before  his 
martyrdom,  and  that  from  the  place  of  his  banishment;  which  also 
seems  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  our  learned  Mr.  Burton,  in  his  notes 
upon  this  epistle.6  Baronius  places  it  six  or  seven  years  sooner,  about 
the  twelfth  year  of  Domitian.c  With  him  Cotelerius  agrees  f  only  he 
supposes  the  persecution  was  then  drawing  towards  an  end,  it  being 
otherwise  unlikely  that  such  an  embassy  could  have  been  sent  from 
Rome  with  the  epistle  as  by  the  close  of  it  we  find  there  was.  But 
Mr.  Dodwell/  with  much  greater  probability,  thinks  it  to  have  been 
written  yet  sooner,  viz.,  immediately  after  the  end  of  Nero's  persecu- 
tion ;  and  to  that  refers  those  troubles  complained  of  by  St.  Clement 
in  the  very  beginning  of  his  epistle/  and  in  which  he  elsewhere  speaks 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  as  some  of  the  latest  instances  of  any  that 
had  died  for  the  sake  of  their  religion.5 

15.  Now,  that  which  seems  yet  more  to  countenance  this  opinion 
is,  that  St.  Clement,  in  another  part  of  his  epistle,*  speaks  of  the  temple 
service  not  only  as  still  continuing,  but  as  being  in  such  a  state  as 
necessarily  supposes  all  things  to  have  been  yet  in  peace  and  quiet  at 
Jerusalem.  From  whence  that  learned  man,*  with  great  reason,  con- 
cludes that  this  epistle  must  have  been  written  somewhat  before  the 
twelfth  year  of  Nero,  in  which  the  Jewish  wars  first  broke  out.  Let 
us  add  to  this,  that  in  the  close  of  this  epistle  we  find  mention  made  of 
Fortunatus,"  as  the  person  whom  the  church  of  Corinth  had  probably 
sent  to  Rome  with  an  account  of  their  disasters,  and  by  whom,  together 
with  the  two  delegates  of  their  own,  the  Roman  church  returned  this 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  Now  Fortunatus  is  expressly  said,  by  St. 
Paul,  to  have  been  an  old  disciple  in  his  time,  insomuch  that  he  places 
him  with  Stephanas,  who  was  the  first  fruits  of  Achaia. — 1  Cor.  xvi. 
15,  17.  And  therefore  we  must  conclude  that  this  epistle  could  not 
have  been  written  so  late  as  some  would  have  it,  seeing  this  man  was 
not  only  still  alive,  but  in  a  condition  of  undertaking  so  great  a  jour- 
ney as  from  Corinth  to  Rome ;  for  from  thence,  it  is  most  likely,  he 

°  Vid.  in  Annot.  in  Epist.  Clem,  in  princip.  b  Annot.  2,  p.  41.  e  Baron.  Annal. 
ad  Ann.  xcv.  num.  1.  dCoteler.  Not.  in  Clem.  Epist.  p.  82.  e  Dodwelli  Append, 
ad  cap.  vi.  Dissert.  2.  Pearson,  p.  219,  num.  24.  /  Epist.  c.  i.  s  Ibid.  c.  v.  h  Cap. 
xli.         » Dodwelli,  loc.  supr.  cit.         *  Epist.  c.  lix. 

D 


38  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE. 

..  ith  a  letter  from  that  church  to  Rome,  and  so  became  the 
bearer  oi  this  epistle,  which  was  written  in  the  name  of  the  church  of 
Rom  ■,  in  answer  to  it. 

16.  I  conclude,  then,  that  this  epistle  was  written  shortly  after  the 
end  of  the  persecution  under  Nero,-  between  the  64th  and  70th 

of  Christ ;  and  that,  ;^  the  learned  defender  of  this  period  supposes,  in 
i  Rome,  before  the  promotion  of  St.  ('lenient 
to  the  government  of  it.  But  of  this  last  circumstance,  as  there  is  no 
certainty,  so  the  express  authority  of  Tertullian*  thai  St.  Clement  was 
made  bishop  of  Rome  by  St.  Peter,  and  this  delivered  as  the  tradition 
of  the  Roman  church  in  the  days  that  he  lived,  has  inclined  i 
rather  to  think  that  he  must  have  been  bishop  of  that  church  when  he 
this  epistle  ;  thougli  neither  can  this  be  affirmed  as  certain  and 
indubitable. 

17.  But  this  is  not  all:  there  is  still  a  difficulty  remaining,  and  that 
of  much  greater  consequence  than  any  I  have  hitherto  mentioned; 
namely,  whether  the  epistle  we  now  have  be,  after  all,  the  genuine 
epistle  of  St.  ('lenient,  so  much  applauded  by  the  ancients,  so  long 

d  upon  as  lost  to  us,  and  so  lately  discovered  in  the  last  age.c 
And  this  I  mention,  not  that  I  think  there  IS  any  real  occasion  offered 
to  incline  us  to  doubt  of  it,  but  because  I  find  there  are  some  who 
.  -rem  still  i<>  make  a  question  of  it.J 

l  3.  And  here  1  would,  in  the  first  place,  ask  these  wary  men  what 
mark  the)  can  propose,  whereby  to  distinguish  the  true  work  of  any 
ancient  writer  from  a  false  and  supposititious,  that  does  not  occur  in 
the  present  piece. 

V.).  That  St.  Clement'  wrote  an  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, — that  he 
it  on  the  same  occasion  that  we  find  expressed  in  this  we  now 
have, — that  this  epistle  was  of  great  reputation,  so  as  to  be  publicly 
read  in  the  churches  heretofore;  all  this  the  authority  of  the  ancient 
fathers  will  not  sutler  us  to  doubt.  That  the  copy  we  now  have  of 
this  epistle  was  taken  from  the  end  of  a  manuscript  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, written,  as  is  supposed,  nol  long  after  the  first  general  council 

of  Nice,  about  three  hundred  years  after  St.  Clement's  death,  and  at 
the  very  time  that  it  WAS  yel  wont  t<>  be   so  read    in  the  churches,  both 

the  l.amed  editor  ia  it  assures  us,J  and  the  manuscript  itself  sufficiently 
declares.  Now,  how  can  it  be  supposed  that  an  epistle  so  famous  in 
those  days,  so  well  known  to  everj  Christian  at  that  time,  when  the 

.    W8S  written   which    we   at    this   daj  have  of  it,  should    have 

a  I>  opr.  lit.  Add   Cave  I!    L  Literar.  in  Clement  p.  18.     Compi 

'  ■  ;n.  i.  p.  266,  dec.         'I'1     i'         ipt  adV   II:  ret.  cap.  82. 

Dr.  Grab  I  Bibl.  Mustr.  N.  T.  torn.  u.  Bran.  Prt  t  (Jr.-t. 

in  l  Cot.  p.  260.     \  Parafip.pi  1167,  Ac,     Vid.  T<  cittelecLEi 

«lc  Phoaniee.        •Vid.  CoQor.  <>|„r.  Boon.  tam.iL  p.  187,       /  \  id.  In 
Epiet  ( 


of  st.  Clement's  first  epistle.  39 

been  alone  concealed  from  the  transcriber  of  this  manuscript  bible,  and 
a  spurious  piece  introduced  to  supply  the  place  of  it? 

20.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for,  if  we  have  not  now  the  true  copy  of  this 
epistle,  it  is  manifest  that  then  neither  had  the  ancient  fathers  of  those 
first  ages  a  true  copy  of  it ;  for  the  passages  which  they  have  quoted* 
are  the  very  same  in  our  epistle :  and  so  they  too  were  imposed  upon, 
no  less  than  we  are,  in  this  matter.  And  can  this  be  rationally  sup- 
posed ?  Can  we  think  that  those  great  men,  and  diligent  searchers 
into  antiquity,  were  ignorant  of  an  epistle,  not  only  in  everybody's 
hand,  but  almost  in  everybody's  memory,  through  their  constant  read- 
ing and  hearing  of  it  ? 

21.  Yet  farther:  let  me  ask  those  who  call  in  question  the  credit  of 
this  excellent  piece,  what  do  they  find  in  it  either  unworthy  of  St.  Cle- 
ment, or  disagreeable  to  those  times  in  which  we  suppose  it  to  have 
been  written  ?  Certainly,  if  this  be  a  counterfeit  piece,  it  was  not  only 
exceedingly  well  done,  but  without  any  design  to  serve  any  party  or 
interest  by  it,  there  being  nothing  in  the  whole  epistle  that  might  not 
have  become  as  excellent  an  age,  and  as  holy  a  man,  as  that  age  and 
that  man  were,  in  which  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  believe 
it  was  composed. 

22.  But  what  then  is  it  that  makes  these  learned  men  so  unwilling 
to  own  this  epistle  to  be  the  genuine  work  of  that  holy  bishop  to  whom 
we  ascribe  it?  It  is  in  short  this,  that  the  author  of  this  epistle,  in 
proof  of  the  possibility  of  a  future  resurrection,  reports  the  story  of 
the  phcenix  reviving  out  of  its  own  ashes,"  which  is  not  only  a  thing 
false  in  itself,  but  unworthy  of  such  a  person  as  St.  Clement  to 
mention. 

23.  Now,  not  to  say  any  thing  as  to  this  matter,  first,  that  Photius/ 
a  severe  critic  of  the  ancient  fathers,  who  first  started  it  as  a  fault  in 
St.  Clement,  that  he  made  use  of  this  as  a  true  observation,  which  it 
seems  the  other  looked  upon  as  a  mere  fable,  yet  did  not  think  it  any 
objection  against  the  authority  of  this  epistle,  which  he  nevertheless 
acknowledged  to  be  St.  Clement's, — to  pass  by,  secondly,  that  the 
generality  of  the  ancient  fathers  have  made  use  of  the  very  same  in- 
stance, in  proof  of  the  same  point/  as  the  learned  Junius  has  particu- 
larly shown,  in  his  notes  upon  this  passage,  and  the  authority  of  whose 
works  no  one  ever  yet  called  in  question  upon  that  account, — I  would 
only  ask,  thirdly,  what  if  St.  Clement  really  believed  the  truth  of  what 
he  here  wrote  concerning  this  matter,  that  there  was  such  a  bird,  and 
that  he  did  revive  out  of  the  cinders  of  the  body  before  burnt  ?     Where 

« Vid.  Baron.  Annal.  Anno  xcv.  num.  iii.  &c.  *  Tcntzelius  Dissert.  Select,  de 

PhcEnice,  p.  33.  Et  Num.  xvi.  p.  45.  c  Photii  Biblioth.  tmem.  exxvi  p.  306. 
dTertuliian.,  Origcn.,  Cyril.,  Hierosolym.,  Euscb.,  Greg.  Naz.,  Epiphanius,  Synesius, 
Hieronym.,  Lactantius,  &c.     Jun.  Notac  in  Clem.  p.  34. 


40  PRELIMINARY    DISCOUK- 

wafl  the  great  harm  either  in  giving  credit  to  inch  a  wonder,  or,  be- 
lieving it,  to  make  such  b  use  as  be  here  does  of  it  ? 

24,  The  truth  is,  whosoever  shall  consider  bom  the  general  credit 
which  mis  story  had  in  (hoc  id  the  particular  accident  which 
f.-ll  out,  not  long  before  the  time  that  this  epistle  was  written,  to  con- 
firm their  I              it,  (of  which  on.-  of  the  moat  judicious  "f  all  the 

B  us  a  large  account,) — I  mean  of  the  phcenii 
that  was  said  t<»  have  com  •  into  Egypt  a  lit  the  death  of  Christ, 

(in,l  i  ision  of  much  discourse  to  the  most  learned 

both  of  the  Greeks  ami  Roi  acerning  the  very  miracle  of 

which  St.  Clement  here  speaks,— will  fmd  it  to  have  been  no  such 

e  thing  in  this  holy  man  to  have  suffered  himself  to  be  led  away 
by  the  common  opinion,  and  to  have  believed  what  so  many  learned 
men   did,  among  the  Jews"   and  Gentiles,'    no  less  than  among  the 

tians:  viz.,  that  God  was  pleased  to  give  to  the  world  this  great 
earnest  and  type  of  a  future  resurrection,  and  to  silence  thereby  the 
cavils  of  such  as  should  pretend  (what  we  know  the  generality  of  the 

men  of  the  world  did)  that  it  was  impossible  for  God  to  effect 
Such  a  restitution. 

25,  But  I  insist  too  long  on  so  trifling  an  objection,  however  magni- 
fied by  some  men  ;  and  may,  I  think,  from  what  I  have  said,  conclude 
that  if  this  be  indeed,  as  they  confess  it  is,*  the  greatest  ground  they 
have  to  call  in  question  the  credit  of  this  epistle,  there  is  then  nothing 

Ight    to  move  any  considering  man  to  entertain  the  least   doubt 
iple  conc<  rning  it. 

26,  There   are,   indeed,  two  other  exceptions  which   Photius  has 

St.  ('lenient/  upon  the  account  of  the  epistle  before  us, 
which  yet  he  looked  upon  as  unquestionably  his:  the  one  for  that  he 
3peaks   in  it  of  the   "worlds  beyond  the  ocean;"   the  other  in  that  he 

B  BOt  to  have  written  so  honourably  as  was  fitting  <>f  the  divinity 
of  our  blessed  Saviour.      But,  as  the  latter  of  these  is  but  a  mere  cavil 

tat    this   holy  man,    who  pot    only   in   his   other   epistle   expressly 

divine  nature  <>f  Christ,  hut  even  in  this  speaks  in  such  a 

maimer  of  him  as  shows  him  to  be  much  more  than  a  mere  creature,-' 

so  iii  the  former  he  said  nothing  but  what  was  agreeable  both  to  the 

OS   and    language   Of  the   times    in  which    he    lived,  when    it  w.is 

common  to  call  our  British  Kales  another  world,  or,  as  St.  Clement 
-  them,  the  «  worlds  beyond  the  ocean." 
And  these,  I  think,  are  the  chief  exceptions  that  have  ben 

aTi.itw-   Aim.il.    lit'.    \i.    num.    S&  kVi  "lit.    OxOQ.  in    lot    BocbtltDJ 

.\       »pud  'J'.nt/.  I.  |  Vid.  Ed.  Oxa 

xxm.  p. 896,  \       i    mm  mis  torn  II'  H 

IMPRIMIS."    Tentel  Burnt,  dl  p.  S3.        •  Photii  BibL  ©od.  cxxtL        •'  / 

bop  Ball,  ]  (-    And  l>r.  Qnbe'i  learned 


of  st.  Clement's  first  epistle.  41 

raised  against  the  following  epistle,  and  which,  however  insisted  upon 
in  these  latter  times,  yet  did  not  hinder  the  first  and  best  ages  of  the 
church,  when  men  were  less  curious  but  much  more  pious  than  they 
now  are,  from  putting  a  very  great  value  upon  it.  Nor  will  they,  I 
suppose,  have  any  more  weight  with  any  serious  and  ingenious  person 
at  this  day,  or  hinder  him  from  esteeming  it  a  very  great  blessing  to 
our  present  times  that  a  work  so  highly  esteemed  among  the  ancient 
fathers,  but  so  long  (and,  as  it  was  justly  feared,  irrecoverably)  lost  to 
these  latter  ages,  was  at  last  so  happily  found  out,  for  the  increase  and 
confirmation  both  of  our  faith  and  charity. 

28.  Now,  the  manner  of  its  discovery  and  publication  was  this  : — It 
happened  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  age  that  Cyril,  patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  being  removed  from  thence  to  Constantinople,  brought 
along  with  him  a  great  treasure  of  books  to  that  place.  Among  the 
rest  he  had  a  very  ancient  manuscript  copy  both  of  the  Septuagint  Old 
and  of  the  New  Greek  Testament,  written  about  four  hundred  years 
after  Christ."  This  he  sent,  as  the  most  valuable  present  that  he  was 
master  of,  to  our  late  royal  sovereign,  King  Charles  the  First,  by  Sir 
Thomas  Roe,  his  majesty's  ambassador  at  that  time  at  the  Porte. 
Being  thus  brought  into  England,  and  placed  in  the  royal  library  at 
St.  James's,  Mr.  Patrick  Young,  the  learned  keeper  of  the  king's 
library  at  that  time,  discovered  this  epistle,  with  part  of  another,  at 
the  end  of  the  New  Testament,  and  was  thereupon  commanded  by 
his  majesty  to  publish  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  world.  This  he  accord- 
ingly did,  with  a  Latin  translation,  and  notes,  at  Oxford,  anno  1633. 
It  was  not  long*  after,  that  a  very  learned  man,  and  a  great  master  of 
the  Greek  tongue,  Mr.  William  Burton,  translated  it  into  English,  and 
published  it  very  accurately,  and  with  new  annotations  of  his  own 
upon  it.  This  I  had  not  seen  till  the  first  sheets  of  the  present  edition 
were  sent  to  the  press :  nor  had  I  any  other  knowledge,  either  of  that 
or  of  the  author,  than  what  I  found  in  the  accounts  given  by  our  late 
Reverend  Dr.  Cave  and  Monsieur  Colomesius,c  of  the  one,  and  by  our 
laborious  antiquary,  Mr.  A.  Wood,d  of  the  other,  in  his  useful  collec- 
tion of  the  lives  and  writings  of  our  modern  authors.  And,  though  I 
believe  whosoever  shall  take  the  pains  to  compare  the  two  translations 
together  will  find  them  generally  agreeing  as  to  the  sense,  yet  there 
will  otherwise  appear  such  manifest  differences  between  them  as  may 
abundantly  satisfy  any  impartial  person  that  I  have  truly  translated  it 
from  the  original  Greek,  and  not  revised  only  Mr.  Burton's  edition 
of  it. 

aVid.  Prsefat.  Jun.  in  Edit.  fcAnno  1647,  Lond.  4to.  *Edit.  Colomesii,  lectori. 
Cave.  Hist.  Literar.  in  Clem.         d  Athens  Oxon.  2d  part,  p.  137,  138. 

6  d2 


THE 

FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  CLEMENT 

'JO 

TIIK  CORINTHIANS. 


The  Church   of  Cod  which  is'1  at  Rome  to  the  Church  of  God  which 

is"  at  Corinth,  elect,1  sanctified,  6y*  the  will  of  Cod,  through  J 

Christ  our  Lord:  grace  and  peace  from  tlie  Almighty  God,  by  Jesus 
i       '  1st,  he  multiplied  unto  you.d 

Bbethbeet, 

The  sudden  and  unexpected  dangers  and  calamities  that  have 
fallen  upon  us  have,  we  fear,  made  us  the  more  slow  in  our  consider- 
ation of  those  tiling  which  you  inquired  of  us;  as'  also  of  that  wicked 
and  detestable  sedition,  so  unbecoming'  the  elect  of  God,  which  a  few 
la  ady  and  Belf-willed  men  have  fomented  to  such  a  (\v±\.  Iness 

that   your  venerable  and  renowned  name,  so  worthy  of  all  men  to  be 
beloved,  Is  greatlj  blasphemed  thereby.     For  who  that  has  ever  I 
among  you  has  uof  experimented  the  firmness  of  your  faith,  and  its 
fruitfulness  in  all   good  works,"  and  admired  the  temper  and   m 
ration  of  your  religion  in  Christ,  and  published  abroad  the  magnifii 

ir  hospitality,  ami  thought  you  happy  in  your  perfect  and  certain 
knowledge  of  the  gospel?  For  ye  did  all  things  without  respect  of 
persons,  and  walked  according  to'  the  laws  of  God ;  being  subject  to 
who  had  the  rule  over  you,  and  giving  the  honour  that  was  fit- 
ting i"  such  as  were  the  aged*  among  you.  Ye  commanded  the  \ 
men  to  think  those  things  that  were  modest  ami  grave.  The  women 
ye  exhorted  to  do  all  things  with  an  unblameable,  and  seemly,  ami 
pure  conscience;  Loving  their  own  husbands,  as  was  fitting;  ami  that, 
keeping  themselves  within  the  bounds1  of  a  due  obedience,  they  should 
order  their  houses"  gravely,  with  all  discretion." 

II.  Ye  were  all  of  you  humble-minded,  not  boasting  of  any  thing ; 
desiring  rather  to  be  Bubject  than  t«>  govern,  to  give  than  to  receive  ;r 
being  content  with  the  porl        G  d  had  dispeni  and, 

'  So  Dr.  Hammond  on  Matt.  xx.  c.        f(Jr. —  1 

'.  /    I  1 1  .     ■■ 

*  (Jr.—  nil  mannt  I  '  /  >. 

'  Cam  '.  ■  ■    .        "  I  Vid.Not  Junii  in  loc 

Pet  I  1 1  Tim. 

\-: 


ST.    CLEMENT  S    FIRST    EPISTLE.  43 

hearkening  diligently  to  his  word,  ye  were  enlarged  in  your  bowels,8 
having  his  sufferings"  always  before  your  eyes.  Thus  a  firm,  and 
blessed/  and  profitable0  peace  was  given  unto  you  ;  and  an  unsalable 
desire  of  doing  good,  and  a  plentiful  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
upon  all  of  you.  And,  being  full  of  good  designs,"  ye  did,  with 
great6  readiness  of  mind,  and  with  a  religious  confidence,  stretch  forth 
your  hands  to  God  Almighty,  beseeching  him  to  be  merciful  unto  you, 
if  in  any  thing  ye  had  unwittingly  sinned  against  him.  Ye  contended 
day  and  night  for  the  whole  brotherhood ;  that  with  compassion,  and 
a  good  conscience/  the  number  of  his  elect  might  be  saved.  Ye  were 
sincere,  and  without  offence  towards  each  other ;  not  mindful  of  in- 
juries. All  sedition  and  schism  was  an  abomination  unto  you.  Ye 
bewailed  every  one  his  neighbour's  sins,  esteeming  their  defects  your 
own.  Ye  were  kind  one  to  another,  without  grudging/  being  ready 
to  every  good  work ;  and,  being  adorned  with  a  conversation  alto- 
gether virtuous  and  religious,  ye  did  all  things  in  the  fear  of  God, 
whose  commandments  were  written  upon  the  tables  of  our  hearts." 

III.  All  honour  and  enlargement  was  given  unto  you  ;  and  so  was 
fulfilled  that  which  is  written,  "My  beloved  did  eat  and  drink,  he  was 
enlarged  and  waxed  fat,  and  he  kicked. "'  From  hence  came  emula- 
tion, and  envy,  and  strife,  and  sedition :  persecution  and  disorder/ 
war,  and  captivity.  So  they  who  were  of  no  renown  lifted  up  them- 
selves against  the  honourable ;  those  of  no  reputation  against  those 
that  were  in  respect;  the  foolish  against  the  wise,  the  young  men 
against  the  aged.  Therefore  righteousness  and  peace  are  departed 
from  you,  because  every  one  hath  forsaken  the  fear  of  God,  and  is 
grown  blind  in  his  faith,  nor  walketh  by  the  rule  of  God's  command- 
ments, nor  liveth  as  is  fitting  in  Christ ;  but  every  one  follows1  his  own 
wicked  lusts,  having  taken  up  an  unjust  and  wicked  envy,  by  which 
death  first  entered  into  the  world. 

IV.  For  thus  it  is  written:  w"And  in  process  of  time,  it  came  to 
pass  that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering  unto  the 
Lord.  And  Abel,  he  also  brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of 
the  fat  thereof:  and  the  Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel,  and  to  his  offer- 
ing. But  unto  Cain  and  unto  his  offering  he  had  not  respect.  And 
Cain  was  very  sorrowful,  and  his  countenance  fell.  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Cain,  Why  art  thou  sorrowful?  and  why  is  thy  counte- 
nance fallen  ?  ■  If  thou  shalt  offer  aright,  but  not  divide  aright,  hast 
thou  not  sinned  ?     Hold  thy  peace :  unto  thee  shall  be  his  desire/  and 


"Embraced  it.  in  your  very  bowels.          JIIa%ara.     Sec  Dr.   Grabe's    Addit.   to   Bp. 
Bull's  Def.  fid.  Nic.  p.  60,  61.  «Gr. — X(7rap<i.  d  Holy  counsel,  or  purpose,  or  will. 

eGr.  Good.  f  With  mercy  and  conscience.  s  Yc  were  without  repentance  in  all  well- 
doing. Titus  iii.  l.  »  Prov.  vii.  3.  'Deut.  xxxii.  15.  *  Confusion,  tumults,  &a 
'  f  i  raUceth  after.  m  Gen.  iv.  3,  &c.  n  This  is  according  to  the  LXX.  °  'Axwipft 
conversion. 


44  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

thou  shalt  rule  over  him.  And  Cab  said  unto  Abel,  his  brotner,  Let 
iwn  into  the  field.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  wen-  in  the 
Held,  thai  Cain  rose  op  against  Abel  bis  brother,  and  slew  him*"  Ye 
see,  brethren,  how  envy  and  emulation  wrought  the  death  of  a  brother.4 
For  '.  r  Jacob  fled  from  the  face  of  bis  brother  Esau.     It 

was  this  that  caused  Joseph  to  be  persecuted  even  unto  death,  and  to 
•  Mine  into  bondage.'     Envy  forced  Moses'  to  flee  from  theft 
Pharaoh,  Icing  •  I  Egypt,  when  he  beard  his  own  countryman  ask  him, 

'<  Who  made  thee   a  judge,  and  rider  over  us?      Wilt  thou  kill  :. 

thou  didst  the    II  yesterday ?"'    Through  em  .  and 

Miriam  were  shut  out*  of  the  camp  from  the  rest  of  the  congregation 
Emulation  sent"  Dathan  and  Abiram  quick  into  the 
lised  up  a  sedition  against  Moses,  the  servant  of 
For  this  David  was  not  only  hated"  of  strangers,  but  was  per- 
\(  ii  by  Saul,  the  king  of  Israel. 
\  .   But,  not  to  insist  upon1  ancient  examples,  let  us  come  to  those 
worthies"  that  have  been  nearest  to  us,  and  take  the  brave  examples 
of  our  own  age.     Through  zeal  and  envy,  the  most  faithful  and  right- 
eous" pillars  of  the  church  have  been  persecuted,  even  to  the  most 
grievous  deaths.     Let  us  set  before  our  eyes  the  holy0  apostles:  Peter, 
by  unjust  envy,  underwent,  not  one  or  two,  but  many  sufferings ; p  till « 
at  last,  being  martyred,  he  went  to  the  place  of  glory  that  was  due  unto 
him.     For  the  same  cause*  did  Paul  in  like  manner  receive  the  reward 
of  his  patience.     Seven  times  he  was  in  bonds;"1  he  was  whipped,  was 
Stoned  ;  he  preached  both  in  the  east  and  in  the  west,  leaving  behind 
him  the'  glorious  report  of  his  faith  ;  and  so,  having  taught  the  whole 
world  righteousness,  and  for  that  end  travelled  even  to  the  utmost 
bounds  of  the  west,  lie  tit  last  suffered  martyrdom,  by  the  command 
of  the  governors,"  and  departed  out  of  the  world,  and  went  unto  his 
holy  place,  being  become  a  most  eminent  pattern  of  patience  unto  all 
■ 
\  I.  'I'm  these  holy  apostles  were  joined*  a  very  great  number  of 
others,  who,  having  through  envy  undergone,  in  like  manner,  many 

pains   and   torments,  have    left   a   glorious   example  to  us."      For  this/ 

oly  men,  but  women,  have  been  persecuted,  '  and,  having  suffered 
:nl  cruel  punishments,'   have  finished  the  course  of  their 

faith  with  firmness,  and,  though  weak  in  body,  yet  received  B 


Envy.    <m  m.  \wiii.      ■Gcn.YxxviL  'Exod.iL IS.      * Exod. ii  14. 

'Num.  \ii.  II.  I "  *  Had*.         >  .'.     . 

,  Ac,  ■  •  I 

iihf„l  ,!>,,'  r  /.■■■■  .        i   :  •  B 

'•  »  tinm  I        .  a   .        •'  /•  .  ,\  .        •Vld.F 

I 

E  ■  The  n. m  : 

I  nmit     Huu  Junius  Annot  in  loc. 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  45 

reward.  This  «  has  alienated  the  minds  even  of  women  from  their  hus- 
bands, and  changed  what  was  once  said  by  our  father  Adam  :  «  This 
is  now  bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh."  »  In  a  word,  envy 
and  strife  have  overturned  whole c  cities,  and  rooted  out  great  nations 
from  off  the  earth. 

VII.  These  things,  beloved,  we  write d  unto  you,  not  only  for  your 
instruction,  but  also  for  your  own  remembrance ; e  for  we  are  all  in  the 
same  lists/  and  the  same  combat  is  prepared  for  us  all :  *  wherefore 
let  us  lay  aside  all  vain  and.  empty  cares,  and  let  us  come  up  to  the 
glorious  and  venerable  rule  of  our  holy  calling.  Let  us  consider  whal 
is  good,  and  acceptable,  and  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  him  that 
made  us."  Let  us  look  steadfastly  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  see  how 
precious. his  blood  is  in  the  sight  of  God;  which  being  shed  for  our 
salvation,  has  obtained l  the  grace  of  repentance  for  all  the  world.  Let 
us  search  into*  all  the  ages  that  have  gone  before  us ;  and  let  us  learn 
that  our  Lord  has  in  everyone  of  them1  still  given  place  for  repentance 
to  all  such  as  would  turn  ■  to  him.  Noah  preached  repentance ;  and 
as  many  as  hearkened  to  him  were  saved.'1  Jonah  denounced  destruc- 
tion against  the  Ninevites:'  howbeit  they,  repenting  of  their  sins,  ap- 
peased God  by  their  prayers,  and  were  saved/  though  they  were 
strangers  to  the  covenant  of  God. 

VIII.  Hence  we  find  how  all  the  ministers  of  the  grace  of  God  hare 
spoken,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  repentance.     And  even  the  Lord  of  all 
has  himself  declared2  with  an  oath  concerning  it :  "As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord,  I  desire  not  the  death  of  a  sinner/  but  that  he  should  re- 
pent ;»*— adding  farther  this  good  sentence,   saying,  « Turn  from' 
your  iniquity,  O  house  of  Israel.     Say  unto  the  children  of  my  people 
Though  your  sins  should  reach  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  though  they 
should  be  redder  than  scarlet,  and  blacker  than  sackcloth,"  yet,  if  ye 
shall  turn  to  me  with  all  your  heart,  and  shall  call  me  Father/"' I  will 
hearken  to  you  as  to  a  holy  people."     And  in  another  place/he  saith 
on  this  wise  :   «  Wash  ye,  make  you  clean  ;  put  away  the  evil  of  your 
doings  *  from  before  mine  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well; 
seek  judgment,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead  for 
the  widow.     Come,  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  ■ 
though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow ;  though 
they  be  red  as  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.-     If  ye  be  willing  and 
obedient,  ye  shall  eat  the  good  of  the  land ;  but,  if  ye  refuse  and  rebel, 

«  Envy,  or  emulation.  »  Gen.  ii.  23.  « Great.  *  Send.  ■  Instructive  vov 
tealsorenemberinx&c.  f  Place  of  encounter.  ,  Imposed  upon  us  all .  tS  ? 
[•forded  or  gwen  to.        * Look  diHgcn(ly  ,0<         l From  age  (Q  m ,,, 

xxxnTl  ^T  V,K ,       °  I0"'  ii!-         PRccelVcd  Salmtl0n'         q  %*»•■         r  Ezek. 

» £ A*  x  i„    ™Uf  "o   htS  f  "tance.  <  RejH  „t  fronu-Ezek.  xviii.  30,  32. 

I>auh  i.         «  Jcr.  in    4,19.         y  Isa.  i.   i6.         •  Evil  from  your  souls.         «  /  ,,,// 
make  them  white  as  uvol. 


46  ST.  CLEMENT  S    FIRST    EPISTLE 

•.11  be  devoured  with  the  sword,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."    These  thin  ilished  by  his  almighty  will, 

desiring  that  all  his  beloved  should  come  to  repentance. 

IV  Wherefore  Id  us  obey  his  excellent  and  glorious  will,  and, 
imploring'  his  mere}  and  goodness,  let  us  rail  down  upon  our  I 
before  him,  ami  casl  ourselves  upon  his  mercy/  laving  aside  all  vanity,* 
and  contention,  and  envy,  which  leads  un!<>  death.  Let  ns  look  up 
to  those  who  have  the  most  perfectly  ministered  to  his  excellent  glory. 
Let  us  take  Enoch  for  our  example,  who,  being  found  righteous  in 

obedience,4   was  translated,  and    his   death   was   not   known.*      Noah, 

:  proved-'  to  be  faithful,  did,  by  his  ministry,  preach  regent 
to  the  world;  and   the  Lord  saved  by  him  all  the  living  creatures  that 

with  one  accord*  together  into  the  ark. 
X.  Abraham,  who  was  called  God's  friend,"  was  in  like  manner 
found  faithful,  inasmuch  as  he  obeyed  the  commands'  of  God.  By 
obedience  he1  went  out  of  his  own  country,  and  from  his  own  kindred, 
and  from  his  father's  house;  that  so,  forsaking  a  small  country,  and  a 
affinity,  and  a  little  house,  he  might  inherit  the  promises  of  God. 
For  thus  God  said  unto  him  :  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from 
thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show 
thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and 
make  thy  name  great,  and  thou  shalt  be  blessed.  And  I  will  bless 
them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  them  that  curse  thee  ;  and  in  thee  shall 
all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."'  And  again,  when  he 
rated  himself  from  Lot,  God  said  unto  him  :  "  Lift  up  now  thine  <  )  I  B," 
and  look  from  the  place  where  thou  art,  northward,  and  southward,  and 

yard,  and  westward;"  for  all  the  land  which  thou  seest,  to  thee 
will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever.  And  I  will  make  thy  seed  as 
the  dust  of  the  earth,  so  that,  if  a  man  can  number  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
then  shall  thy  scrd  also  be  numbered. "  And  again,  he  saith,  "  And 
G       brought  forth  Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Look  now  towards 

•n,  and   tell    the  slurs,  if  thou    be  able  to  number   them:    so   shall 
thy  seed  he.      And  Abraham  believed  ( rod,  and  it  was  counted  to  him 

for  righteousn<  Through  faith  and  hospitality, he  had  a  son  given 

him9  in  his  old  age;  and  through  obedience  he  offered  him  up  in 

Sacrifice  to  God,  upon  one   of  the   mountains  which  (\od  showed  unto 

him. 

XI.  By  hospitality  and  godliness  was  Lot  saved  out  of  Sodom,1 

when   all    the   country  round  about  was  destroyed    DYf  lire    and   brim- 


/.  .•    typphantt    <  ',    <\<\  *  Turn    •  ■unrlvrs    /<■    &U    mercy.  <v 

d ( irn.  \.  "j  J.      '  I'oumi.      f  Being fammd — <a m.  vi  mi.  viM.      *  lu  unify.      *Jan.iLSS. 

I-.ii.ilt  \li.  B,  '  11././.  »  Tins man.  '(Jrn.xii.  1.  m  <  a-n.  xiii.  1  1 

:hr  MO.  °(mmi.  w.  .">.  r.'       i    •  /ur/:.  « (Jen.  xix.      'J  1*.  I. 

'  -•  •     '  i  loc.  or  punished  with. 


TO   THE    CORINTHIANS.  47 

stone  the  Lord  thereby  making  it  manifest,  that  he  will  not  forsake 
those  that  trust  in  him,  but  will  bring  the  disobedient'  to  punishment 
and  correction.  For  his  wile,  who  went  out  with  him,  beino- of  a 
different  mmd,  and  not  continuing  in  the  same  obedience,'  was  for 
that  reason  set  forth  for  an  example/  being  turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt 
unto  tins  day.  That  so  all  men  may  know  that  those  who  are  double- 
mmded,  and  distrustful  of  the  power  of  God,  are*  prepared  for  con- 
demnation, and  to  be  a  sign  to  all  succeeding  ages. 

XII.  By  faith  and  hospitality  was  Rahab  the  harlot  saved'     For 
when  the  sp.es  were  sent  by  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  to  search  out 
Jericho,  and  the  king  of  Jericho  knew  that  they  were  come  to  spy  out 
his  country  he  sent  men  to  take  them,  that  so/  they  might  be  put  to 
death.     Rahab,  therefore,  being  hospitable,-  received  them,  and  hid 
them  under  the  stalks  of  flax  on  the  top  of  her  house.     And  when  the 
messengers  that  were  sent  by  the  king  came  unto  her,  and  asked  her, 
saying     «  There  came  men  unto  thee  to  spy  out  the  land,  bring  them 
forth,  for  so  hath  the  king  commanded,'"   she  answered,  «  The  two 
men  whom  ye  seek  came  unto  me,  but  presently  they  departed,  and 
are  gone :'    not  discovering  them  unto  them.'     Then  she  said  to  the 
spies,"'  « I  know  mat  the  Lord"  your  God  has  given  this  city  into  your 
hands;    f„r  the  fear  of  you  is  fallen  upon  all  that  dwell  therein. 
When  therefore,  ye  shall  have  taken  it,*  ye  shall  save  me,  and  my 
father  s  house."     And  they  answered  her,  saying:    «It  shall  be  as 
thou  hast  spoken  unto  us.     Therefore,  when  thou  shalt  know  that  we 
are  near,  thou  shalt  gather  all  thy  family  together  upon  the  house-top, 
and  they  shall  be  saved:   but  all  that  shall  be  found  without  thy  hou 
shall  be  destroyed.".     And  they  gave  her  moreover  a  sign,  that  she 
should  hang  out  of  her  house  a  scarlet  rope  -  showing  thereby  that  by 
the  blood  of  our  Lord  there  should  be  redemption  to  all  that  believe 
and  hope  in  God.     Ye  see,  beloved,  how  there  was  not  only  faith,  but 
prophecy  too  in  this  woman. 

XIII.  Let  us,  therefore,  humble  ourselves,  brethren,  laying  aside 
all  pride,  and  boasting,  and  foolishness,  and  anger:  and  let  us  do  as 
it  is  written.  For  thus  saith  the  Holy  Spirit,  «  Let  not  the  wise  man 
glory  in  his  wisdom,  nor  the  strong  man  in  his  strength,  nor  the  rich 
man  m  his  nches ;  but  let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  the  Lord,  to  seek 
hira  and  to  do  judgment  and  justice.'"  Above  all,  remembering  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  he  spake'  concerning  equity  and  long 

«'„BUt  '*T  ""*  '"m  ,""°'hCr  my  he  >""'■  &c-         hN°>  *•  ">"^d.         ■  Put  for  a 
£  J      7t,     /JT  "••  \?%      fHe  '""  m"'  """  •*««  «*»  <>><<»  >">  M." 


48 

suffering,  saying/  "B<  iful,  and  ye  shall  obtain  mercy :  for- 

give, and  ye  sliall  be  forgiven  ;  as  J  aD  it  be  done  unto  you: 

as  ye  give,  so  sliall  it  be  given  unto  yon  :  as  ye  judge,  ao  shall  ye,  be 

judged  :  as  ye  are  kind  to  others,  so  shall  God  be  kind  to  you  :  with 
what  measure  ye  mete,  with  the  Bame  shall  it  be  measured  to  you 

i.'1     \\\  this  command,  and  by  these  rules,  let  us  establish  our- 
selves, thai   SO   we   may  always  walk  obediently  to   his  holy  words, 
y  humble-minded  ;  for  so  says  me  Holy  Scripture:*  u  Upon  whom 
shall  I  look?  even  upon  him  that  is  poor,  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and 
that  tr  '  my  word.'" 

XJV.    It   IS,  therefore,  just  and   righteous,11  men  and  brethren,  that 
we   should  become  obedient   unto  God,  rather  than  follow  such  as, 
through*  pride  and  sedition,  have  made  themselves  the  ring-leadl 
a  del  [nidation.     For  it  is  not  an  ordinary  harm  that  we  shall 

do  ourselves,  but  rather  a  very  great  danger  that  we  shall  run,  if  we 
shall  rashly  give  up  ourselves  to  the  wills  of  men,  who  promote/  strife 
and  seditions,  to  turn  us  aside  from  that  which  is  fitting.  But  let  us 
rind  to  one  another,  according  to  the  compassion  and  sweetness  of 
him  that  made  us  ;  for  it  is  written  :  "  The  merciful  shall  inherit  the 
earth,"*  and  "  they  that  are  without  evil  shall  be  left  upon  it ;  but  the 
transgresson  shall  perish  from  off  the  face  of  it.""  And  again  he  saith, 
"I  have  seen  the  wicked  in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself  like 
the  cedars  of  Libanus.  I  passed  by,  and  lo,  he  was  not;  I  sought 
his  place,  but  it  could  not  be  found.  Keep  innocency,  and  do  tin 
thing  that  is  right;  for  there  shall  be  a  remnant  to  the  peaceable 
man." 

XV.  Let  us  therefore  hold  fast  to  those  who  religiously"  follow 
;  and  not  to  such  as  only  pretend  to  desire  it.'  For  he  saith, 
in  a  certain  place,  "This  people  honoureth  me  with  their  lips,  but 
their  heart  is  far  from  me.""  And  again:  "They  bless*  with  their 
mouth,  but  curse"  in  their  heart.11''  And  again*  he  saith,  "The} 
:  him  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their  tongue  they  lied  to  him. 
Foi  their  bear!  was   not    right  with  him,  neither  were  they  faithful  in 

Ins  covenant.'1  a  Lei  all  deceitful  lips  become  dumb,  and  the  tongue 
that  speaketh  proud  things.     Who  have  said,  With  our  ton-rue  we 

will  prevail  :r  our  lips  an  our  own,  who  is  lord  over  us3  For  the 
Oppression  of  the  poor,  ('or  the  sighing  of  the  needy,  now  will  I  arise, 
saith   the    Lord  ;   I  will  set  him   in   safety,  1  will  deal    confidently  with 


r   thus    he   smth.      I.uki-    m.   BS,  ill    l^i.    -■ 

'  1„.  f Prick   M    to.     S,t    .hwiii    Ann.  i'    i'.    wwii.    '■>.  "l'mv.    ii.    II,    t% 

wwii.  36,  M!  ;  I IV':  >:;//>■  7'ey  mill  it. 

18.  -  /,/,   ft  I  '  P    ,;.    Kn.     1.  I  lV.il.   1\\n 

*  ii-  mil  magnify  ou>  fa  rP 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  49 

XVI.  For  Christ  is  theirs  who  are  humble,  and  not  who  exalt  them- 
selves over  his  flock.  The  sceptre  of  the  Majesty  of  God,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  came  not  in  the  show  of  pride,"  and  arrogance,  though 
he  could  have  done  so,*  but  with  humility,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
before  spoken  concerning  him.  For  thus  he  saith,  "  Lord,  who  hath 
believed  our  report,  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ? 
For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out 
of  a  dry  ground.  He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ;  and,  when  we 
shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him.  He  is 
despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief.  And  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him  :  he  was*  despised, 
and  we  esteemed  him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  car- 
ried our  sorrows:  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions ;  he  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities ;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
him,  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  wTe  like  sheep  have  gone 
astray ;  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and  the  Lord  hath 
laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was 
afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth  :  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter ;  and,  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth 
not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment ;  and 
who  shall  declare  his  generation  ?  For  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land 
of  the  living ;  for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken. 
And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  his 
death ;  because  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in 
his  mouth.  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put  him 
to  grief.  When  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall 
see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
shall  prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and 
shall  be  satisfied;  by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify 
many :  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him 
a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong ; 
because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death  :  and  he  was  numbered 
with  the  transgressors,  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  inter- 
cession for  the  transgressors."0  And  again  he  himself  saith,  "lama 
worm  and  no  man,  a  reproach  of  men,  and  despised  of  the  people. 
All  they  that  see  me  laugh  me  to  scorn ;  they  shoot  out  their  lips  ; 
they  shake  their  head,  saying,  He  trusted  in  the  Lord  that  he  would 
deliver  him  ;  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delighted  in  him."*  Ye 
see,  beloved,  what  the  pattern  is  that  has  been  given  to  us.  For,  if 
the  Lord  thus  humbled  himself,  what  should  we  do  who  are  brought 
by  him c  under  the  yoke  of  his  grace  ? 

°  Boasting.         b  Kai-rep  iwdnevos,  though  he  were  powerful.         c  Isai.  liii.  according  to 
the  Hebrew.         d  Psal.  xxii.  6.         « MS.  &'  avrov. 

7  E 


50  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

\\  II.  Let  us  be  followers  of  those  who  went  about  in  goat-skins 
and  sheep-skins,  preachirig  the  coming  of  Christ."  Such  were  Xlias, 
and  Klisa-u>,  and  Bzekiel,  the  prophet*.  And  let  us  add  to  these  such 
others  as  have  received  the  like  testimony.1  Abraham  has  been  greatly 
witnessed  of;  having  i > « ■  t - 1 1  called  the  friend  of  (Jod.  And  yet  he  stead- 
fastly beholding  the  glory  of  God,  says  with  all  humility,  «I  am  dust 
and  ashes.'1       Lgaio  of  Job  it  is  thus  written,  that  "he  was  just  and 

without   blame,   true,   one    that    served    God,   and    abstained  from   all 

evil.,M  Vet  he,  accusing  himself,  says,  "No  man  is  free  from  pollu- 
tion, no  not  though  he  should  live  but  one  day."'     Moses  was  called 

faithful  in  all  God's  house:  and  by  his  conduct  the  Lord  punished 
[srae]  by  stripes  and  plagues.'  And  even  this  man,  though  thus 
greatly  honoured,  spake  not  greatly  of  himself;  hut,  when  the  oracle 
of  God  W«l  delivered  to  him  out  of  the  bush,  he  said,  "  Who  am  I, 
that  thou  dost  send  me  ?  I  am  of  a  slender  voice,  and  a  slow  tongue. "ff 
And  again  he  saith,  "  I  am  as  the  smoke  of  the  pot."" 

Will.  And  what  shall  we  say  of  David,  so  highly  testified  of  in 
the  holy  Scriptures,  to  whom  God  said,  "  I  have  found  a  man  after 
my  own  heart,  David  the  son  of  Jesse  ;  with  my  holy  oil  I  have 
anointed  him  ?"'  But  yet  he  himself  saith  unto  God  :  "  Have  mercy 
upon  me,  0  God,  according  to  thy  loving  kindness;  according  unto 
the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies,  blot  out  my  transgressions.  Wash 
me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me  from  my  sin.  For 
I  acknowledge  my  transgressions,  and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight, 
that  thou  mightest  he  justified  when  thou  speakest,  and  be  clear  when 
thou  judgest.  Behold  T  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my 
mother  conceive  me.  Behold  thou  desirest  truth  in  the  inward  parts, 
and  in  the  hidden  part  thou  shalt  make  me  know  wisdom.  Purge  me 
with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  ;  wash  me,  and  I  shall  he  whiter 
than  snow.  Make  me  to  hear  joy  and  gladness,  that  the  bones  which 
thou  ha^t  broken  may  rejoice.  Hide  thy  face  from  my  sins,  and  blot 
out  all  mine  iniquities.  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God  ;  and 
renew  a  n'_rht  spirit  within  me.  Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence, 
and  take  not  iliv  Holy  Spirit  from  me.     Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of 

thy  Salvation,  and  Uphold  me  with  thy  free  Spirit.  Then  will  I  teach 
transgressors    thy  w,i\s,    and    sinners   shall    he   converted    unto    thee. 

Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  0  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation, 
and  my  tongue  shall  sing  aloud  ofthj  righteousness.  0  Lord,  open 
thou  my  lips,  and  my  mouth  shall  show  forth  thy  praise.  For  thou 
desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it ;  thou  delighted  not  in 

a  HV    v/r/.  *'/'<>    thtttf  thnsr    aim    that  hair  hrrti  tnhirfsrd  of.  '(icn.    x\: 

*Jabf»  1«        "Jobsfc  i.        7M8  'K\-!. 

in.  It.  MM.  iv.  10.  '  I'-.i!.  luui.  19. 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  51 

burnt- offerings.  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit ;  a  broken 
and  a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise."0 

XIX.  Thus  has  the  humility  and  godly  fear"  of  these  great  and 
excellent  men,0  recorded''  in  the  Scriptures,  through  obedience,  made 
not  only  us,  but  also  the  generations  before  us  better;  even  as 
many  as  have  received  his  holy  oracles  withe  fear  and  truth.  Having 
therefore  so  many  and  such  great  and  glorious  examples/  let  us  return 
to  that  peace  which  was  the  mark  that  from  the  beginning  was  set 
before  us ; 5  let  us  look  up  to  the  Father  and  Creator  of  the  whole 
world,  and  let  us  hold  fast  to  his  glorious  and  exceeding  gifts  and 
benefits  of  peace.  Let  us  consider  and  behold  with  the  eyes'1  of  our 
understanding'  his  long-suffering  will;  and  think  how  gentle  and 
patient  he  is  towards  his  whole  creation. 

XX.  The  heavens,  moving  by  his  appointment,  are  subject  to  him 
in  peace.  Day  and  night  accomplish  the  courses  that  he  has  allotted 
unto  them,  not  disturbing  one  another.  The  sun  and  moon,  and  all 
the  several  companies"  and  constellations  of  the  stars,  run  the  courses1 
that  he  has  appointed  to  them  in  concord,  without  departing  in  the 
least  from  them.  The  fruitful  earth  yields  its  food  plentifully  in  due 
season,  both  to  man  and  beast,  and  to  all  animals  that  are  upon  it, 
according  to  his  will ;  not  disputing,"1  nor  altering  any  thing  of  what 
was  ordered  by  him.  So  also  the  unfathomable  and  unsearchable 
floods  of  the  deep  are  kept  in  by  his  command  ;n  and  the  conflux0  of 
the  vast  sea,  being  brought  together  by  his  order  into  its  several  col- 
lections, passes  not  the  bounds  that  he  has  set  to  it :  but  as  he  ap- 
pointed it  so  it  remains.*  For  he  said,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come, 
and  thy  floods  shall  be  broken  within  thee."  The  ocean,  unpassable 
to  mankind,  and  the  worlds  that  are  beyond  it,  are  governed  by  the 
same  commands  of  their  great  Master.  Spring  and  summer,  autumn 
and  winter,  give  place  peaceably  to  each  other.  The  several  quarters4 
of  the  winds  fulfil  their  work1"  in  their  seasons  without  offending  one 
another.  The  ever-flowing  fountains,  made  both  for  pleasure  and 
health,  never  fail  to  reach  out  their  breasts  to  support  the  life  of  men. 
Even  the  smallest  creatures  live  together8  in  peace  and  concord  with 
each  other.  All  these  has  the  great  Creator  and  Lord  of  all  com- 
manded to  observe  peace  and  concord,  being  good  to  all,  but  especi- 
ally to  us  who  flee  to  his  mercy  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  to 
whom  be  glory  and  majesty  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

XXI.  Take  heed,  beloved,  that  his  many  blessings  be  not  to  us'  to 

aPsaI.  li.   to  ver.  17,  according  to  the  Hebrew.  b  Fcarfulncss.  e  So  great   and 

such  kind  of  men.  d  Witnessed  of,  or  celebrated.  ■  In.  f  Deeds,  or  works.  e  Let 
us  return  to  the  mark  of  pence  given  to  us  from  the  beginning.  h  See  ten  with  our 
understanding.  » Soul.  k  Choruses.  '  Bounds.  m  Doubting.  ■'■  Vid.  edit. 

Coloraes.  p.  53.  °  Hollow,  or  depth.  r  Commanded,  so  it  does.  *  Stations, 

r  Service.         '  Mix  together.         <  All  of  us. 


52  ST.  CLEMENT  S   FIRST   EPISTLE 

condemnation — except  we  shall  walk  worthy  of  him,  doing  with  one 
consent"  what  is  good  and  pleasing  in  his  sight  "The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  a  candle,  searching  out  the  inward  parts  of  the  belly."'  Let 
us,  therefore,  eonsi  near  he  is  to  as,  and  how  that  none  of  our 

thoughts,  <>r  reasonings,  which  we  frame  within  hid  from 

him.4     It  is  therefore  just  that  we  should  not  forsake  our  rani 
doing  contrary  to  his  will.     Lei  us  choose  to  offend  a  few  foolish  and 
inconsiderate  men,  lifted  up,  and  glorying  in  their  own  pride,4  rather 
than  God.      Let  us  reverence  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  blood  was 
given  for  us  ;   let  US  honour  those  who  are  set  over  us  ;   let  US  r< 

ged  that  are  amongst  US  ;  and  let  us  instruct  the  youngi  r  men  in 
the  discipline  and  fear  of  the  Lord.  Our  wives  let  us  direct'  to  do 
that  which  is  good.  Let  them  show  forth  a  lovely  habit  of  purity  in 
all  their  conversation,  with  a  sincere  affection'  of  meekness  ;  let  the 
government*  of  their  tongues  be  made  manifest*  by  their  silence  ;  U  I 
their  charity  be  without  respect  of  persons,  alike  towards  all  such  as 
religiously  fear  God.  Let  their  children  be  bred  up  in'  the  instruction 
of  Christ;  and  especially  let  them  learn  how  great  a  power  humility 
has  with  God — how  much  a  pure  and  holy  charity  avails  with  him — 
how  excellent  and  great  his  fear  is — and  how  it  will  save1  all  SUi 
turn  to  him  with  holiness  in  a  pure  mind.  For  he  is  the  searcher  of 
the  thoughts  and  counsels  of  the  heart ;  whose  breath  is  in  us,  ami 
when  be  pleases  he  can  take  it  from  us. 

XXII.  But  all  these  things  must  be  confirmed  by  the  faith'  which 
is  in  Christ;  for  so  he  himself  bespeaks  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost : — 
"  Com<-,  ye  children,  and  hearken  unto  me,  and  I  will  teach  you  the 
fear  of  the  Loan.  What  man  is  there  that  desireth  life,  and  loveth  to 
good  days?  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips  that  they 
speak  no  guile.  Depart  from  evil  and  do  good;  seek  peace  and 
ensue  it.  The  eves  of  the  LiOBD  are  upon  the  righteous,  and  his  ear- 
pen  unto  their  prayers.  But  the  face  of  the  Lord  is  against  them 
thai  do  evil,  to  cul  off  the  remembrance  of  them  from  the  earth.     The 

righteous  rin-A,  and  the  Lord  heard  him,  and  delivered  him  out  of  all 

his  troubles.     Many  are  the  troubles"'  of  the  wicked;  but  they  that 

trust  in  the  LORD,  mercy  shall  encompass  them  BDOUt."* 

Will.  Our  all-merciful  and  beneficent  father  hath  bowels  of  com- 

|  in  towards  them  that  far  him,  and   kindly  and    lovingly  b<  - 

I  i  upon  all  such  B8  COBM  to  him  with  a  simple  mind.    \\  . 

fore  1ft  us  not  waver,*  neither  let  us  •  |   doubt  in  our  hearts  of 

his    excellent    and    glorious    gifts.      Lei    that    b  CD    us  which    i» 

a  I!                          •  Pro*.  \\.  17.  '  '/'•    •  n  ■■'  ng  (i  fad  to  him                   \jht»  or 

d  In  t  i  />>  •  •'.   of  i.'ifu  .         ■                               i  (                 ammrf. 

f  Wittf  or  coutueL        t  Moderation*  ^  Let  them  manx      .        */ 

nth  confirm*.        mS  '  PtaLxxxit.il. 


TO    THE  CORINTHIANS.  53 

written,"  » Miserable  are  the  double-minded,  and  those  who  are 
doubtful  in  their  hearts,"  who  say,  These  things  have  we  heard, 
and  our  fathers  have  told  us  these  things.  But,  behold,  we  are 
grown  old,  and  none  of  them  has  happened  unto  us.  0  ye  fools ! 
consider  the  trees,0  take  the  vine  for  an  example :  first  it  sheds  its 
leaves,  then  it  buds ;  after  that  it  spreads  its  leaves,  then  it  flowers ; 
then  come  the  sour  grapes,  and  after  them  follows  the  ripe  fruit."  Ye 
see  how  in  a  little  time  the  fruit  of  the  trees  comes  to  maturity.  Of  a 
truth,  yet  a  little  while,  and  his  will  shall  suddenly  be  accomplished. 
The  Holy  Scripture  itself"  bearing  witness,  » that  he  shall  quickly 
come  and  not  tarry,  and  that  the  Lord  shall  suddenly  come  to  his 
temple,  even  the  Holy  One*  whom  ye  look  for." 

XXIV.  Let  us  consider,  beloved,  how  the  Lord  does  continually 
show  us,  that  there  shall  be  a  future  resurrection,  of  which  he  has  made 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  first-fruits,  raising  him  from  the  dead.  Let 
us  contemplate/  beloved,  the  resurrection,  that  is  continually  made5 
before  our  eyes.  Day  and  night  manifest  a  resurrection  to  us.  The 
night  lies  down,  and  the  day  arises ;  again  the  day  departs,  and  the 
night  comes  on.  Let  us  behold  the  fruits  of  the  earth:  every  one  sees 
how  the  seed  is  sown :  the  sower  goes  forth,"  and  casts  it  upon  the 
earth,  and  the  seed  which,  when  it  is  sown,  fell  upon  the  earth  dry 
and  naked,  in  time  dissolves ;  and  from  the  dissolution  the  great  power 
of  the  providence  of  the  Lord  raises  it  again,  and  of  one  seed  many 
arise,  and  bring  forth  fruit. 

XXV.  Let  us  consider  that  wonderful  type1  of  the  resurrection 
which  is  seen  in  the  eastern  countries  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  Arabia.  There 
is  a  certain  bird  called  a  phoenix :  of  this  there  is  never  but  one  at  a 
time,  and  that  lives  five  hundred  years ;  and,  when  the  time  of  its  dis- 
solution draws  near,  that  it  must  die,  it  makes  itself  a  nest  of  frankin- 
cense, and  myrrh,  and  other  spices ;  into  which,  when  its  time  is  ful- 
filled, it  enters  and  dies.  But  its  flesh,  putrefying,  breeds  a  certain 
worm,  which  being  nourished  with  the  juice  of  the  dead  bird,*  brings 
forth  feathers;  and  when  it  is  grown  to  a  perfect1  state,  it  takes  up  the 
nest  in  which  the  bones  of  its  parent m  lie,  and  carries  it  from  Arabia 
into  Egypt,  to  a  city  called  Heliopolis :  and,  flying  in  open  day,  in  the 
sight  of  all  men,  lays  it  upon  the  altar  of  the  sun,  and  so  returns  from 
whence  it  came.  The  priests  then  search  into  the  records  of  the  time ; 
and  find  that  it  returned  precisely  at  the  end  of  five  hundred  years. 

XXVI.  And  shall71  we  then  think  it  to  be  any  very  great  and  strange 
thing  for  the  Lord  of  all  to  raise  up  those  that  religiously  serve  him  in 

aLet  the  icriting  be  far  from  us.  b  James  i.  8.  e  Compare  yourselves  unto  a  tree. 
dEx  MS.  omitted  by  Junius.  Hab.  ii.  3.  Mai.  iii.  1.  «vAyytXof,  Angel,  f  See. 
n  Made  every  season.  h  Went  forth ;   and  so  in  the  rest,  '  Sign.         *  Animal* 

•'  Strong.         m  Progenitor.         n  Do. 

e2 


54  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

the  assurance  of  a  good  faith,  when  even  by  a  bird  he  shows  us  the 
greatness  of  his  power  to  fulfil  his  promise  ?  For  he  says,  in  a  certain 
place,  "Thou"  shalt  raise  me  up, and  I  shall  confess  unto  t li*-t- . ^ "  And 
again,  tc  I  laid  me  down,  t,and  awaked, because  thou  art  with 

me.'1 '  And  again,  Job  says,  kk  Thou  shah  raise  up  this  flesh  of  mine 
thai  has  Buffered  all  these  things."1 

XXVII.  Having  therefore  this  hope,  let  us  hold  fast'  to  him  wh 
faithful  in  all  his  promises,  and  righteous  in  all  his  judgments,  who  has 
commanded  us  not  to  lie:  how  much  more  aril]  he  not  himself  lie ? 
For  nothing  is  impossible  with  God  hut  to  lie.  Let  his  faith  then  be 
I  up  again  in  us ;  and  let  us  consider  that  all  things  are  nigh  unto 
bim.  B\  die  word  of  his  power*  be  made  all  things,  and  by  the  Bame 
word  1.''  is  able  [whenever  he  will]  to  destroy  them.  "Who  shall 
say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou:  or  who  shall  resist  the  power  of  his 
igth?"'  When  and  as  he  please  lie  will  do*  all  things;  and  no- 
thing shall  pass  away  of  all  that  has  been  determined  by  him.  All 
things  are  Open  before  him  ;  nor  can  anything  be  hid  from  his  counsel. 
«  The'1  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  the  firmament  showeth 
his  handy  work.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  nighl 
showeth  knowledge.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language  where  their 
voice  is  not  heard."1 

X.W  III.  Seeing  then  all  things  are  seen  and  heard  by  God,  let  us 
fear  him,  and  let  us  lay  aside  oar  wieked  works,  which  proceed  from 
ill  desires,  that  through  Ins  mercy  we  ma)  be  delivered"  from  the  con- 
demnation1 to  come.  For  whither  can  any  of  us  ilee  from  his  might) 
hand?  or  what  world  shall  receive  any  of  those  who  run  away  from 
him  ?  For  thus  saith  the  Scripture,  in  a  certain  place,  »  Whither  shall 
I  life  [from  thy  Spirit]  or  where  shall  I  hide  myself  from  tin  presence1 
It  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there:  if  I  shall  go  to  the  utmost 
}  -  of  the  earth,  there  is  thy  right  hand:  if  I  shall  make  my  bed  in 
the  deep,  thy  Spirit  is  there.""  Whither  then  shall  any  one  go,  or 
whither  shall   he  run,  from  him  that  comprehends  all  things? 

XXIX.  J.<  I  us  therefore  come  to  him  with  holiness  of  heart,"  lifting 
up   chaste   and    undelilrd    hands   unto   him;   loving  our  gracious   and 

ifdl  Father,  who  has  made  us  to  partake    of  his  election.     For  so 

it    is   written,  ■•  W  Inn   the   Mosl    High   divided   the  nations,  when  he 

separated  the  sons  of  Adam,  he  set  the  hounds  of  the  nations,  accord- 
■  i  the  number  of  his  angels:  his  people  Jacob  became  the  portion 

of  the  Lord,  and  Israel  the  lo1   of  his   inheritance." f      And  in  anothei 
place   he    SB    h,  "Behold,4   the   Lad   taketh  unto  himself  a   nation  on; 

i,  i.i.  ."..        '  .i  b  i\.  17.        'I 

18,  i  \i-.    •  •  PmL  \i\.   i. 

- ./  -■]',:.  exflfcc  7.        ■  ;'  A  \     '•       p  l>ut. 

I  \. 


TO   THE    CORINTHIANS.  55 

of  the  midst  of  the  nations,  as  a  man  taketh  the  first  fruits  of  his  flour ; 
and  the  Most  Holy  shall  come  out  of  that  nation." a 

XXX.  Wherefore,  we  being  the  portion  of  the  Holy  One,"  let  us  do 
all  those  things  that  pertain  unto  holiness;  fleeing  all  evil-speaking 
against  one  another,  all  filthy  and  impure  embraces,  together  with  all 
drunkenness,  youthful  lusts,  abominable  concupiscences,  detestable 
adultery,  and  execrable  pride.  "For  God,"  saith  he,  "  resisteth  the 
proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."0  Let  us  therefore  hold  fast 
to  those  to  whom  God  has  given  his  grace/  And  let  us  put  on  con- 
cord :  being  humble,  temperate,  free  from  all  whispering  and  detraction, 
and  justified  by  our  actions/  and  not  our  words.  For  he  saith,  "  Doth 
he  that  speaketh  and  heareth  many  things/  and  that  is  of  a  ready 
tongue,  suppose  that  he  is  righteous  ?  Blessed  is  he  that  is  born  of  a 
woman,  that  liveth  but  a  few  days :  use  not  therefore  much  speech."5 
Let  our  praise  be  of  God,  not  of  ourselves ;  for  God  hateth  those  that 
commend"  themselves.  Let  the  witness  of  our  good  actions  be  given 
to  us  of  others,  as  was  given  to  the  holy  men  that  went  before  us. 
Rashness,  and  arrogance,  and  confidence,  belong  to  them  who  are 
accursed  of  God ;  but  equity,  and  humility,  and  mildness,  to  such  as 
are  blessed  by  him. 

XXXI.  Let  us  then  lay  hold  of  his  blessing,  and  let  us  consider 
what  are  the  ways  by  which  we  may  attain  unto  it.1  Let  us  look  back 
upon*  those  things  that  have  happened  from  the  beginning.  For  what 
was  our  father  Abraham  blessed  ?  Was  it  not  because  that,  through 
faith,  he  wrought  righteousness  and  truth  ?  Isaac,  being  fully  per- 
suaded of  what  he  knew  was  to  come,  cheerfully  yielded  himself  up  for 
a  sacrifice.1  Jacob  with  humility  departed  out  of  his  own  country,  flee- 
ing from  his  brother,  and  went  unto  Laban,  and  served  him :  and  so 
the  sceptre  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  was  given  unto  him. 

XXXII.  Now  what  the  greatness  of  this  gift  was  will  plainly  appear, 
if  we  shall  take  the  pains  distinctly  to  consider  all  the  parts  of  it ;  ■  for 
from  him  came  the  Priests  and  Levites,  who  all  ministered  at  the  altar 
of  God  ;  from  him  came  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  flesh ; 
from  him  came  the  kings,  and  princes,  and  rulers  in  Judah :  nor  were 
the  rest  of  his  tribes71  in  any  small  glory;  God  having  promised  that 
"  thy  seed  [says  he]  shall  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven."  °  They  were  all 
therefore  greatly  glorified/  not  for  their  own  sake,  or  for  their  own 
works,  or  for  the  righteousness  that  they  themselves  wrought,  but 

aDeut.  iv.  34.  lNura.  xxvii.  «  Ja.  iv.  6.  1  Pet.  v.  3.  d  The  grace  of  God 
has  been  gwj  n,  -  Work.  /He  that  speaketh  many  thing*  shall  also  hear,  &c  Job 
xxi.  2,  3,  LXX.  s  Be  not  much  in  words.  h  Are  praised  of.  *  See  what  arc  the 
ways  of  his  blessing.  l  Unroll.  l  With  full  persuasion,  foreknowing  what  was  to  be, 
pleasingly  became  a  sacrifice.  m  The  gifts  that  wire  given  by  him  were,  he  ghall  know 
whosoever  will,  one  by  one,  carefully  and  distinctly  consider  them.  *  Sceptres:  See  Jun. 
Annot.         "Gen.  xxii.  17.         p  Glorified  ami  magnified. 


56  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

through  his  will.  And  we  also,  being  called  by  die  same  will  in 
Qhrist  Ji  b  is,  are  Dot  justified  by  ouisi  Ives,  neither  by  our  own  wis- 
dom, or  knowledge,  oi  which  we  have  done  in  the 
holiness  of  our  hear!  :  bj  thai  faith  by  which  God  Almighty  has 
justified  all  men  from  the  beginning:  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and 

ever.      Aincn. 

X.WIll.  What  shall  we  do,  therefore,  brethren?    Shall  we 

slothful  in  Well-doing,  and  lay  aside  our  charity?  God  f(jrhid  that 
any  such  thing  should  be  done  bj  us!  But  rather  let  us  hasten,  with 
all  earnestness  and  readiness  of  mind,  to  p  jood  work;  for 

even  the  Creator  and  Lord  of  all  things  himself  rejoices  in  his  own 

works.     B)  his  almighty*  power  he  fixed  the  heaven's,  and  bj 

incomprehensible  wisdom  he  adorned  them:  he  also  divided  the  earth 

tnnn  the  water,  with  which  it  ifl  encompassed  ;  and  fixed  it,  as  a  secure 

r,  upon  the  foundation  of  his  own  will :  he  also,  by  his  appoint* 

ment,  commanded  all  the  living  creatures  that  are  upon  it  to  exist:  so 

likewise  the  sea,  and  all  the  creatures  that  are  in  it,  having  first  created 

them,  he  enclosed  them  therein  by  his  power.     And  above  all,  he  with 

his  holy  and  pure  hands  formed  man — the  most  excellent,  and,  as  to 

his  understanding,  truly  the  greatest  of  all  earthly  creatures — the  cha- 

of  his  own  image.     For  so  God  says,  "Let  us  make  man  in 

our  image,  alter  our  own  likeness:  so  God  created  man,  male  and 

female  created  he  them."'      And, having  thus  finished  all  these  things, 

□amended  all  that   he  had  made,  and   blessed  them  ;  and  said, 

•  I.  <■  and  multiply."11     AVe  see  how  all  righteous  men  have  been 

adorned  with  good  works  J  wherefore  even  the  Lord  himself,  having 

adorned  himself  with  his  works,  rejoiced.     Having  therefore  such  an1 

example,  let  us  without  delay  fulfil f  his  will,  and  with  all  our  strength 

work  the  work  of  righteousness. 

XXXIV.  The  good  workman  with  confidence  receives  the  bread  of 
his  labour ;«  bu1  the  sluggish  ami  lazy  cannot  look  him  in  the  face  that 
sets  him  on  work.  We  must  therefore  he  ready  and  forward  in  well- 
doing ;  for  from  him  are  all  things.  And  thus  he  foretells  us,  "Be- 
hold, the  Lonl   Cometh,  and    his   reward    is   with   him,  even  before  his 

uder  to  every  one  according  to  his  work.1"'   lie  warns  us 
therefore  beforehand,  with  all  his  heart,  to  this  end,  that  we  should  not 

be  slothful  or  negligent    in   well-doing.*      Lit    our    boasting,  then 
and  our  confidence  be    in  God;*   let   us   submit    OUTSeh  es  to  his  will. 

I.  •  consider  the  whole  multitude  of  his  angels,  how  ready  they 
stand  to  minister  unto  his  will ;  as  saith  the  Scripture,  "Thousands  of 
thoufi  d  before  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  minis- 


« In  I  irt        l.i  Gen.xx*LS7.        'Gfan.L  B8.        '  H 

I  i  R  d.  10;  bdL  1 L.  •'•'.       lBm» 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  57 

tered  unto  him."a  "  And  they  cried,  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the 
Lord  of  Sabaoth ! "  The  whole  earth c  is  fall  of  his  glory  !"  Where- 
fore let  us,  also,  being  conscientiously  gathered  together  in  concord 
with  one  another,  as  it  were  with  one  mouth  cry  earnestly  unto  him, 
that  he  would  make  us  partakers  of  his  great  and  glorious  promises. 
For  he  saith,  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  has  prepared  for  them  that 
wait  for  him.'"1 

XXXV.  How  blessed  and  wonderful,  beloved,  are  the  gifts  of  God ! 
— life  in  immortality — brightness  in  righteousness — truth  in  full  assu- 
rance— faith  in  confidence — temperance  in  holiness  !  And  all  this  has 
Gode  subjected  to  our  understandings:  what,  therefore,  shall  those 
things  be  which  he  has  prepared  for  them  that  wait  for  him  ?  The 
Creator  and  Father  of  spirits/  the  Most  Holy,  he  only  knows  both  the 
greatness5  and  beauty  of  them.  Let  us  therefore  strive  with  all  ear- 
nestness, that  we  may  be  found  in  the  number  of  those  that  wait  for 
him;  that  so  we  may  receive  the  reward"  which  he  has  promised. 
But  how,  beloved,  shall  we  do  this  ?  We  must*  fix  our  minds  by  faith 
towards  God,  and  seek  those  things  that  are  pleasing  and  acceptable 
unto  him.  We  must  act  conformably"  to  his  holy  will,  and  follow  the 
way  of  truth,  casting  ofT  from  us  all  unrighteousness  and  iniquity,  to- 
gether with  all  covetousness,  strife,  evil  manners,  deceit,  whispering, 
detractions,  all  hatred  of  God,  pride  and  boasting,  vain-glory  and  am- 
bition: for  they  that  do  these  things  are  odious  to  God;  and  not  only 
they  that  do  them,  but  also  "  all  such  as  approve  of  those  that  do 
them."1  For  thus  saith  the  Scripture,  "But  unto  the  wicked  God 
said,  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  declare  my  statutes,  or  that  thou  shouldst 
take  my  covenant  in  thy  mouth ;  seeing  thou  hatest  instruction,  and 
castest  my  words  behind  thee  ?  When  thou  sawest  a  thief,  then  thou 
consentedst  with  him,  and  hast  been  partaker  with  adulterers.  Thou 
givest  thy  mouth  to  evil,  and  thy  tongue  frameth  deceit.  Thou  sittest 
and  speakest  against  thy  brother ;  thou  slanderest  thine  own  mother's 
son.  These  things  hast  thou  done,  and  I  kept  silence  ;  thou  thoughtest 
that  I  was  altogether  such  a  one  as  thyself:  but  I  will  reprove  thee, 
and  set  them  in  order  before  thine  eyes.  Now  consider  this,  ye  that 
forget  God,  lest  I  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  deliver. 
Whoso  offereth  praise  glorifieth  me :  and  to  him  that  disposeth  his  way 
aright  will  I  show  the  salvation  of  God."m 

XXXVI.  This  is  the  way,  beloved,  in  which  we  may  find  our  Sa- 
viour," even  Jesus  Christ,  the  high  priest  of  all  our  offerings,  the 

aDan.  vii.  10.         *Isa.  vi.  3.  *  Every  creature.        dIsa.  lxiv.  4.     1  Cor.  ii.  9. 

'He.         fJges.         s  Quantity.  *  Gifts.         »"  If  wc  shall.         *  Perform  those  things 

that  are  agreeable.  » Rom.  i.  32.  m  psal,  J,  \  Q}  &c#j  according  to  the  Hcb.  «  That 
which  has  the  power  to  save  us. 

8 


5S  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

defender  and  helper  of  our  weakness.  By  him  we  look  up  to  the 
highest  heavens,*  and  heboid  as  in  i  glass  his  spotless  and  most  excel- 
lenl  risage.     By  him  ire  th  I  our  hearts  opened  ;  by  him  our 

foolish  and  darkened  understanding  rejoicetn  to  behold  his  wonderful 
light     By  him  would  God  hare  us  to  taste  the  knowledge  of  immor- 
tality, M  wh«»,  being  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  is  by  so  mm 
than  the  angels  as  he  has  bj  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent  name 
thanthey.,n     I  it  is  written,  "  Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits, 

and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  lire."1'  Hut  to  his  Son  thus  saitb  the 
Lord,  "Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  bare  I  begotten  thee."-     "Aakof 

and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the 
utmost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  *  And  again  he  Baith 
unto  him,  i-  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy 

•  xjl."*  But  who  are  his  enemies?  Even  the  wicked,  and  such 
who  oppose  their  own  wills  to  the  will  of  God. 

WWII.  Let  us  therefore  march-  on,  men  and  brethren,  with  all 
earnestness  in  his  holy  laws.     Let  us  consider  those  who  fight  under 
our  earthly  governors  ;  how  orderly,  how  readily,  and  with  what  I 
obedience,  they  perform  those  things  that  are  commanded  them !  all 
are  not  generals,*  nor  colonels,'  nor  captains, k  nor  interior  officers ; '  but 

.  one,  in  his  respective  rank,  does  what  is  commanded  him  by  the 

king,  and  those   who  have   the  authority  over  him.     They  who  are 

cannot  subsist  without  those  that  are  little  ;  nor  the  little  without 

teat.  But  there  must  be  a  mixture  in  all  things;  and  then  there 
will  he  use  and  profit  too.  Let  us,  for  example,  take  our  body  ;  the 
head  without  the  feet  is  nothing,  neither  the  feet  without  the  head  ;" 
and  even  the  smallest  members  of  our  body  are  yet  both  necessary  and 
Useful  to  the  whole  body.  But  all  conspire  together  ami  are  s  . 
to  one  common  use,"  namely,  the  preservation  of  the  whole  b 

WW  III.   Let  therefore  our  whole  body  be  saved  in  Jesus  CI 
and  let  evriy  one  be  subject  to  his  neighbour,  according  to  the  order 
in  which  he  is  placed1  by  die  gift  of  God.1     Let  not  the  strong  man 

despise  tie'  weak  ;    and  let  the  weak    sec  that    he    lVYercnce  the  si 

Let  the  rich  man  distribute  to  the  necessity  of  the  poor  j  and  let  the 
poor  bleSS  God  that  he  has  given  unto  him  by  whom  his  want  may  be 
supplied.      Let  die  Wise  man  show  forth  his  wisdom,  not  in  words,  but 

in  good  works.      Let   him  that   is  humble  not    hear  witness  to  bin 
but  let  him  leave  it  to  another  to  hear  witness  of  him.      Let  him  that  is 
pure  in  the  flesh  not  grow  proud  v\  it,  knowing  that  it  was  from  another 


■  II                               K.           I  II.!..    i.    8,    1.           ■  IVilm  ri\.    1.      H.-k  i.  7.  Mirk  I  5, 

'('..I.  ,                           t  ii. ' .  !.  i.t.    l'-.l.  ex.  i.       i  n  or.       h  I  "'    - 

*  c,  ntm       ■         •                            ..  and  booh.  "  l  <  '■'■• 
mi.  18.        n  Urn  pm  common                           MS.  I 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  59 

that  he  received'1  the  gift  of  continence.  Let  us  consider,  therefore, 
brethren,  whereof6  we  are  made — who,  and  what  kind  of  men  we 
came  into  the  world,  as  it  were  out  of  a  sepulchre,  and  from  utter 
darkness.  He  that  made  us,  and  formed  us,  brought  us  into  his  own 
world,  having  prevented  °  us  with  his  benefits  even  before  we  were 
born.  Wherefore,  having  received  all  these  things  from  him,  we 
ought,  in  every  thing,  to  give  thanks  unto  him ;  to  whom  be  glory  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

XXXIX.  Foolish  and  unwise  men,  who  have  neither  prudence  nor 
learning/  may  mock  and  deride  us,  being  willing  to  set  up  themselves 
in  their  own  conceits.  "  Bute  what  can  a  mortal  man  do  ?  Or  what 
strength  is  there  in  him  that  is  made  out  of  the  dust  ?"  For  it  is  written, 
"  There  was  no  shape  before  mine  eyes ;  only  I  heard  a  sound /  and  a 
voice.  For  wThat  ?  Shall  man  be  pure  before  the  Lord  ?  Shall  he  be 
blameless  in  his  works  ?  Behold,  he  trusteth  not  in  his  servants  ;  and 
his  angels  he  charged  with  folly.  Yea,  the  heaven  is  not  clean  in  his 
sight ;  how  much  less  they  that  dwell  in  houses  of  clay,  of  which  also  we 
ourselves  were  made !  He  smote  them  as  a  moth ;  and  from  morning 
even  unto  the  evening  they  endure  not.  Because  they  were  not  able  to 
help  themselves  they  perished  :  He  breathed  upon  them,  and  they  died, 
because  they  had  no  wisdom." — "  Call  now,"  if  there  be  any  that  will 
answer  thee  ;  and  to  which  of  the  angels  wilt  thou  look  ?  For  wrath 
killeth  the  foolish  man,  and  envy  slayeth  him  that  is  in  error.  I  have 
seen  the  foolish  taking  root ;  but  lo !  their  habitation  was  presently  con- 
sumed. Their  children  were  far  from  safety;  they  perished"  at  the 
gates  of  those  who  were  lesser  than  themselves ;  and  there  was  no 
man  to  help1  them.  For  what  was  prepared  for  them  the  righteous 
did  eat:"  and  they  shall  not  be  delivered  from  evil." 

XL.  Seeing  then  these  things  are  manifest  unto  us,  it  will  behove 
us  to  take  care  that,  looking  into  the  depths  of  the  divine  knowledge, 
we  do  all  things  in  order  whatsoever  our  Lord  has  commanded  us  to 
do  ;  and  particularly,  that  we  perform  our  offerings  and  service  to 
God,  at  their  appointed  seasons ;  for  these  he  has  commanded  to  be 
done,  not  rashly l  and  disorderly,  but  at  certain  determinate  times  and 
hours,  and  therefore  he  has  ordained,  by  his  supreme  will  and  au- 
thority, both  where,  and  by  what  persons,  they  are  to  be  performed, 
— that  so,  all  things  being  piously  done  unto  all  well-pleasing,  they 
may  be  acceptable  unto  him."1  They  therefore  who  make  their  offer- 
ings at  the  appointed  seasons  are'  happy  and  accepted ;  because  that, 
obeying  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  they  are  free  from  sin.  "  And 

° Another  that  gave  him.  b  Of  what  matter.  c  Prepared  for  us.  d  And  im- 
prudent and  without  instruction,  *  For.  f  An  air,  Job  iv.  16,  &c. ;  xv.  15;  iv.  19. 
ffJobv.  l,&c.  h  Were  crushed  upon.  » Deliver.  kAtc.  l  By  chance.  m  To 
his  will. 


GO  ST.  CLEMENT'S   FIRST  EPISTLE 

the  same  care  must  be  had  of  the  persons  that  minister  unto  him 
for  the  chief  priesl  has  his  proper  services;  and  to  the  priests  their 
r  place  i^  appointed;  and  to  the  Levites  appertain  their  proper 
ministers;  and  the  layman  is  confined  within  the  bounds  of  what  is 
commanded  to  laymen. 

XLI.  Let  everyone  of  you  therefore,  brethren,  bless  God  in  his 
proper  station,  with  a  ijood  conscience,1  and  with  all  gravity,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  rule  of  his  Bervice  that  is  appointed  to  him.  The  daily 
sacrifices  are  not  offered  even  where,  nor  the  peace-offerings,  nor  the 
sacrifices  appointed  lor  sins  and  transgressions,  but  only  at  Jerusalem  : 
nor  in  an)  place  there,  but  only  at  the  altar  before  the  temple;  that 
which  is  offered  being  first  diligently  examined  by  the  high  priest  and 
the  other  ministers  we  before  mentioned.  They  therefore  who  do  any 
thing  which  is  not  agreeable  to  his  will  are  punished  with  death.  Con- 
sider,' brethren,  that  by  how  much  the  better  knowledge  God  has 
vouchsafed  unto  us,  by  so  much  the  greater  danger  are  we  exposed  to. 

\LII.  The  apostles  have  preached  to  us  from  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  Jesus  Christ  from  God.  Christ  therefore  was  sent  by  God, 
the  apostles  by  Christ :  so  both  were  orderly  sent,4  according  to  the  will 
of  God.*  For  having  received  their  command,  and  being  thoroughly 
assureil  by  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  convinced 
by  the  word  of  God,  with  the  fulness'  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  went 
abroad,  publishing  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  at  hand.  And  thus, 
ching  through  countries  and  cities,  they  appointed  the  first  fruits 
of  their  conversions'  to  be  bishops  and  ministers  over  such  as  should 
afterward-  believe,  having  first  proved  them  by  the  Spirit.  Nor  was 
this  any  new  thing,  seeing  that  long  before  it  was  written  concerning 
bishops  and  deacons.  For  thus  saith  the  Scripture,  in  a  certain  p' 
"I  will  appoint  their  overseers'  in  righteousness,  and  their  ministers 
in  faith." 

Xldll.  And  what  wonder  if  they,  to  whom  such  a  work  was  com- 
mitted by  God  in  Christ,  established  such  officers  as  we  before  men- 
tioned, when   even  that  blessed  and  faithful  servant    in  all  his  house, 

Moses,  set1  down  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  all  things  that  were  com- 
manded him?  Whom  also  all  the  rest  of  the  prophets  followed,  bear- 
ing witness  with   one  Consent  to  those  things  that  were   appointed  by 

him :  lor  he,  perceiving  an  emulation  to  arise'  among  the  tribes  con- 
cerning the  priesthood,  and  that  there  w  about  it,  which  ^i 
4hem  should  be  adorned  with  that  glorious  name,  commanded  their 

twelve  captains  to  bring  him  twelve   rods  ; '"  every  tribe  being  written 

upon  its  rod,  according  to  its  name.     And  he  took  them  and  bound 

in   be.  -  * 

'  1   Tl  /  With  (he    full  \  i      •     ,  \.    1", . 

•  ./-I  tmuUuion  m.\uinl>.  xui. 


TO   THE    CORINTHIANS.  61 

them  together,  and  sealed  them  with  the  seals  of  the  twelve  princes  of 
the  tribes  ;  and  laid  them  up  in  the  tabernacle  of  witness,  upon  the 
table  of  God.  And,  when  he  had  shut  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  he 
sealed  up  the  keys  of  it  in  like  manner  as  he  had  done  the  rods  ;a  and 
said  unto  them,  Men  and  brethren,  whichsoever  tribe  shall  have  its 
rod  blossom,  that  tribe  has  God  chosen  to  perform  the  office  of  a 
priest,  and  to  minister b  unto  him  in  holy  things.  And,  when  the 
morning  was  come,  he  called  together  all  Israel,  six  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  and  showed  to  their  princes  the  seals,  and  opened  the 
tabernacle  of  witness,  and  brought  forth  the  rods.  And  the  rod  of 
Aaron  was  found  not  only  to  have  blossomed,  but  also  to  have  fruit 
upon  it.  What  think  you,  beloved  ?  did  not  Moses  before  know  what 
should  happen  ? c  Yes,  verily ;  but,  to  the  end  there  might  be  no  divi- 
sion nor  tumult  in  Israel,  he  did  in  this  manner,  that  the  name  of  the 
true  and  only  God  might  be  glorified :  to  him  be  honour  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen. 

XLIV.  So  likewise  our  apostles  knew,  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  there  should  contentions  arise  upon  account  of  the  ministry/  And 
therefore,  having  a  perfect  foreknowledge  of  this,  they  appointed  per- 
sons, as  wTe  have  before  said,  and  then  gave  direction,  how,  when 
they  should  die,  other  chosen  and  approved  men  should  succeed  in 
their  ministry/  Wherefore  we  cannot  think  that  those  may  justly  be 
thrown  out  of  their  ministry  who  were  either  appointed  by  them,  or 
afterwards  chosen  by  other  eminent  men,  with  the  consent  of  the  whole 
church,  and  who  with  all  lowliness  and  innocency  ministered  to  the 
flock  of  Christ,  in  peace  and  without  self-interest,  and  were  for  a  long 
time  commended  by  all.  For  it  wrould  be  no  small  sin  in  us,  should 
we  cast  off  those  from  their  ministry /  who  holily.  and  without  blame, 
fulfil  the  duties'  of  it.  Blessed  are  those  priests  who,  having  finished 
their  course  before  these  times,  have  obtained  a  fruitful  and  perfect 
dissolution,  for  they  have  no  fear  lest  any  one  should  turn  them  out  of 
the  place  which  is  now  appointed  for  them.  But  we  see  how  you 
have  put  out  some  who  lived  reputably  among  you  from  the  ministry, 
which  by  their  innocence  they  had  adorned. 

XLV.  Ye  are  contentious,  brethren,  and  zealous  for  things  that 
pertain  not  unto  salvation.  Look  into  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are 
the  true  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Ye  know  that  there  is  nothing  un- 
just or  counterfeit  written  in  them.  There  you  shall  not  find  that 
righteous  men  were  ever  cast  off  by  such  as  wTere  good  themselves. 


°  And  the  rods.  b  To  exercise  the   office  of  the  priesthood,   and  to  minister,  &c 

c  That  this  should  he  so.  d  About  the  name  of  the  bishopric.  e  Left  a  list  of  other 
chosen  ami  approved  persons,  who  should  succeed  them  in  their  ministry. — See  Dr.  Anion's 
Disc,  upon  this  passage,  and  Dr.  Hammond's  Power  of  the  Keys,  c.  iii.  p.  413. 
f  Fishopric.         s  Offer  the  gifts. 

F 


62  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

They"  were  persecuted,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  by  the  wicked  and  un- 
just: they  were  cast  into  prison,  but  they  were  cast  in  by  those  that 
unholy:  they  wen-  stoned,  but  it  ■  pernors: 

killed,  but  by  accursed  men,  and  such  m  had  taken  up  an  unjust 
i  aw  against  them.     And  all  these  things1  they  underwent  gloriously. 
F<>r  what  shall  we  say,  brethren?    Was  Danid  cast  into  the  den*  of 
by  men  fearing  God?    Ananias,  A/anas,  and  Missel,  were  they 
into-  the  firry  furnace'   by  men  professing  the  excellent  and 
ius  worship-*  of  the  Most  High?     God  forbid!     What  kind  of 
:is   then    were    they   thai    did    these   things?       They   were    men 
abominable,  full  of  all  wickedness,  who  were  incensed  to  so  great  a 
as  to  bring  those  into  Bufferings  who  with  a  holy  and  unblam- 
f  mind  worshipped  God;  not  knowing  that  the  M   rt 
High   is  the   protector  and   defender  of  all  such  as  with  a  pure   con- 
m  r\e  his  holy  name  :   to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.     But  they  who  with   a  full  persuasion  have   endured  these 
things  are  made  partakers  of  glory  and  honour;  and  are  exalted* 
and  lifted  up  by  God,  in  their  memorial  throughout  all  ages.     Amen. 
X  LVL   Wherefore  it  will  behove  us  also,  brethren,  to  follow*  such 
examples  as  these  ;  for  it  is  written,  "  Hold  fast  to  such  as  are  holy  ; 
for  they  that  do  bo  shall  be  sanctified."     And  again  in  another  place 
;;h,'    "With  the  pure  thou  shall  be  pure,  ["and  with  the  elect 
thou  shah  he  elect,]  hut  with  the  perverse   man  thou  shalt  be  per- 
.',"      Let  us  therefore   join  ourselves  to  the  innocent   and   right- 
eous ;  for  such  are  the  elect  of  God.     Wherefore  are  there  strifes,  and 
r,  and  divisions,  and  schisms,  and  wars,  among  us?     Have  we 
not  all  one  God  and  one  Christ?0     Is  not  one  Spirit  o(  grace  poured 
out  among  us  all :p     Have  we  not  one  calling  in  Christ  ?      Why  then 
do  we  rend  and  tear  in  pieces  the  members  of  Christ,  and  raise  sedi- 
tions againsl  our  own  body  :  and  are  come  to  such  a  height  of  madness 
forget  that  we  were    "members   one  of  another111"      Remember 
the  words  of  our    Lord   JeSUS,  DOW  he   said,r    "Woe  to  that  man  [by 
whom   offences   come1']      It  were  better  for  him   that    he  had   never 
been   born,  than   that    he   should   have   offended   one   (^  my  elect.      It 
better  for  him  that  a  millstone  should  be  tied  about  his  neck,  and 
he  should  be   cast  into  the   sea,  than  that  hi-   should  offend  one  of  my 
little  ones."     Your  schism  has  perverted  many,  has  discouraged  many  ; 

it  has  caused  diffidence  in  many,  and  grief  in  us  all.     And  yet  your 

sedition  continues  still. 


"  Just  mm.  l  SxjTrrum  thtsf  thin^f  th<y  umhru-rnt  (hi  in  ^iiiwusly.  c  Dun.  \\.  16. 

d  shut   uit<>.         ■Dan.   in.   -jo.         t  Wwakippimg   the   monkip,         -/i7  o/fvfuc. 

■>rd.  '  ll,ir.  irm  rrtiltfL  *  '/'■•  I  lr.sv<   '<<.  '  I'sill.  W  U.  '2.  "'Omit- 

tr-1    1>\    .! i 1 1 1 n i - .    :iml    BOVJ    mtOTO d    from    Am    M8L  ■   I  ■  «<[>h.    i\.    I. 

r  i  Cor,  mi.        «  Rom.  xn.  r>.        r  For  h<  mi*       'Luke  *▼& 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  63 

XLVII.  Take  the  epistle  of  the  blessed  Paul  the  apostle  into  your 
hands.  What  was  it  that  he  wrote  to  you  at  the  first  preaching  of  the 
gospel  among  you?0  Verily  he  did  by  the  Spirit  admonish  you" 
concerning  himself,  and  Cephas,  and  Apollos,  because  that  even  then 
ye  had  begun  to  fall  into  parties0  and  factions  among  yourselves. 
Nevertheless  your  partiality  then  led  you  into  a  much  less  sin,  foras- 
much as  ye  placed d  your  affections  upon  apostles,  men  of  eminent' 
reputation  in  the  church  ;  and  upon  another  who  was  greatly  tried  and 
approved  of  by  them.  But  consider,  we  pray  you,  who  were  they 
that  have  now  led  you  astray,  and  lessened  the  reputation'  of  that 
brotherly  love  that  was  so  eminent e  among  you?  It  is  a  shame,  my 
beloved,  yea  a  very  great  shame,  and  unworthy  of  your  Christian  pro- 
fession,'1 to  hear  that  the  most  firm  and  ancient  church  ■  of  the  Corin- 
thians should,  by  one  or  two  persons,  be  led  into  a  sedition  against 
its  priests.  And  this  report  is  come  not  only  to  us,  but  to  those  also 
that  differ  from  us ;  insomuch  that  the  name  of  the  Lord  is  blasphemed 
through  your  folly,  and  even  ye  yourselves  are  brought  into  danger 
by  it. 

XLVIII.  Let  us,  therefore,  with  all  haste,  put  an  end  to k  this  sedi- 
tion ;  and  let  us  fall  down  before  the  Lord,  and  beseech  him  with 
tears  that  he  would  be  favourably  reconciled1  to  us,  and  restore  us 
again  to  a  seemly  m  and  holy  course  of  brotherly  love.  For  this  is  the 
gate  of  righteousness,  opening  unto  life  :  as  it  is  written,  «  Open  unto 
me  the  gates  of  righteousness  ;  I  will  go  in  unto  them,  and  will  praise 
the  Lord.  This  is  the  gate  of  the  Lord  ;  the  righteous  shall  enter  into 
it."n  Although  therefore  many  gates  are  opened,  yet  this  gate  of 
righteousness  is  that  gate  in  Christ  at  which  blessed  are  all  they  that 
enter  in,  and  direct  their  way  in  holiness  and  righteousness,  doing  all 
things  without  disorder.  Let  a  man  be  faithful ;  let  him  be  powerful 
in  the  utterance  of  knowledge ;  let  him  be  wise  in  making  an  exact 
judgment  of  words ;  let  him  be  pure  in  all  his  actions :  but  still  by 
how  much  the  more  he  seems  to  be  above  °  others  by  reason  of  these 
things,  by  so  much  the  more  will  it  behove  him  to  be  humble-minded, 
and  to  seek  what  is  profitable  to  all  men  and  not  his  own  advantage. 

XLIX.  He  that  has  the  love  that  is  in  Christ,  let  him  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  Christ.  For  who  is  able  to  express  the  obligation*  of 
the  love  of  God  ?  What  man  is  sufficient  to  declare  as  is  fitting  the 
excellency  of  its  beauty  ?  The  height  to  which  charity  leads  is  inex- 
pressible.    Charity  unites'  us  to  God  :  charity  "  covers  the  multitude 

8  See  Mr.  Dodwell's  Add.  ad  Pearson.  Chronol.  p.  223.  Dr.  Grabc's  Spicileg.  torn.  1. 
p.   256.  b  Spiritually   send  to   you.      1  Cor.   i.    12.  'Inclinations  [Tor   one  above 

another.]  *  Inclined,  * Wit  nested   of.  /Gravity.  b  So    much    .rfwkcn    of. 

•  Institution.         'See  Mr.  Dodwell,  1.  c.  p.  222.  *  Take.  away.         l  Becoming  favour- 

able. m  Grave;    venerable.  n  Psal.    cxviii.     19,    20.  "Greater.  f  Bond. 

«  Glues. 


64  ST.  CLEMENT'S   FIRST  EPISTLE. 

of  sins:""   charity  "endures  all  things,"'    is  long-suffering  in  all 
things.     There  is  nothing  base  and  sordid  in  charity:  charity  lifts  not 

itself  up  above  other;  admits  of  DO  divisions;   is  not  seditious,  but 

all  things  in  peace  and  concord.     By  charity  were  all  the  i 
of  God  made  perfect :  without  it  nothing  is  pleasing  and  acceptable  in 
the  sight  of  God.     Through  charity  did  the  Lord  join  us*  unto  him- 
self; whilst,  for  the  love  thai  he  bore  towards  us,  our  Lord  .1 
Christ  gave  his  own  blood  tor  us,  by  the  will  of  God— his  flesh  for 
our  flesh,  his  soul  for  our  souls. 

L.    Y     see,   beloved,  how  great    and   wonderful  a  thing  charity  is. 
and  how  that  no  expressions  are  sufficient  to  declare  its  perfection. 
But  who  is  tit  to  be  found  in  it?     Even  such  only  as  God  snail  vouch- 
Let  us,  therefore,  pray  to  him,  and  beseech  him  that 
we  may  be  worthy  of  it;  that  so  we  may  live  in  charity,  being  un- 
blamable, without  human  propensities,  without   respect  of  persons. 
All  the  ages  of  the  world,  from  Adam  even  unto  this  day,  are  passed 
away  ;  but  they  who  have  been  made  perfect  in  love  have,  by  the 
of  God,  obtained  a  place  among  the  righteous,  and  shall  be 
made  manifest  in  the  judgment"  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.     For  it  is 
written,  "  Enter  into  thy  chambers  for  a  little  space,  till  my  anger  and 
. nation  shall  pass  away:   and  I  will  remember  the  good  day,  and 
will  raise  you  up  out  of  your  graves."'     Happy  then  shall  we  be/ 
beloved,  if  we  shall  have  fulfilled  the  commandments  of  God,  in  the 
:   that  so,  through  love,  our  sins  may  be  forgiven  us. 
SO  it  is  written,   "Blessed   are  they  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven, 
and  whose  sins  are  covered.     Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord 
imputeth  no  sin,  and  in  whose  mouth  there  is  no  guile."'     Now  this 

ing  is  fulfilled  in  those  who  are  chosen  by  God,  through  J< 
Christ  our  Lord  ;  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

LI.  Let  us,  therefore,  as  many  as  have  transgressed  by  any  of  the 
suggestions"   of  the  adversary,  beg  God's  forgiveness.     And,   B 

who  have  been  the  heads'  of  the  sedition  and  faction  among  yOU, 
let  them*  look  to  the  common  end  of  our  hope.  For  as  man}  as  are 
endued   with'  fear  and  charity  would  rather  they  themselves  should  fall 

trials  than  their  neighbours,  and  choose  to  be  themselves  con- 
demned rather  than  that  the  good  ami  just  charity  delivered  to  us 

should  sutler.      For  it  is  seemU   for   a   man    to   confess  wherein  1. 

•  id,  and  not  m  to  harden  his  heart,  as  the  hearts  of  those  were 
hardened    who    raised    Up  Sedition  against    Moses  the  servant    <A'  ' 

whose  punishment  was  manifest  unto  all  men,  for  thei   went  down 
alive"  into  the  grave,  death  swallowed  them  up.     Pharaoh'  and  his 

*l  Pet.lT. 8.  ']»':.   |  ::i.  ',  .  A  '.v  tt$vp, 

aim  in  loc. 
*  They  ought,      I  Walk  according  to  /  Km in.      m  Rather  than,      "Nnmbwxri       E 


TO    THE    CORINTHIANS.  65 

host,  and  all  the  rulers  of  Egypt,  their  chariots  also,  and  their  horse- 
men, were  for  no  other  cause  drowned  in  the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea,  and 
perished  ;  but  because  they  hardened  their  foolish  hearts,  after  so  many 
signs  done  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  by  Moses  the  servant  of  God. 

LII.  Beloved,  God  is  not  indigent  of  any  thing ;  nor  does  he  de- 
mand any  thing  of  us,  but  that  we  should  confess  our  sins  unto  him. 
For  so  says  the  holya  David,  "I  will  confess  unto  the  Lord,  and  it 
shall  please  him  better  than  a  young  bullock  that  hath  horns  and 
hoofs. "b  "Let  the  poor  see  it  and  be  glad."  And  again  he  saith, 
"  Offer  unto  God  the  sacrifice  of  praise,  and  pay  thy  vows  unto  the 
Most  Highest.  And  call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will 
deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me."c  "  The  sacrifice  of  God  is 
a  broken  spirit." d 

LIII.  Ye  know,  beloved,  ye  know  full  well,  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  have  thoroughly  searched  into  the  oracles  of  God.  Call  them, 
therefore,  to  your  remembrance ;  for  when  Moses  went  up  into  the 
mount,  and  tarried  there  forty  days  and  forty  nights  in  fasting  and  hu- 
miliation, God  said  unto  him,  "  Arise,  Moses,6  get  thee  down  quickly 
from  hence ;  for  thy  people  whom  thou  broughtedst  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  have  committed  wickedness ;  they  have  soon  transgressed  the 
way  that  I  commanded  them,  and  have  made  to  themselves  graven 
images.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  I  have  spoken  unto  thee  seve- 
ral times/  saying,  I  have  seen  this  people,  and  behold  it  is  a  stiff- 
necked  people ;  let  me  therefore  destroy  them,  and  put  out  their  names 
from  under  heaven :  and  I  will  make  unto  thee  a  great  and  a  wonder- 
ful nation,  that  shall  be  much  larger s  than  this.  But  Moses  said,  Not 
so,  Lord :  forgive  now  this  people  their  sin  ;  or,  if  thou  wilt  not,  blot 
me  also  out  of  the  book  of  the  living."  O  admirable  charity!  0  in- 
superable perfection!  The  servant  speaks  freely  to  his  Lord:  he 
beseeches  him  either  to  forgive  the  people,  or  to  destroy"  him  together 
with  them. 

LIV.  Who  is  there  among  you  that  is  generous  ?  who  that  is  com- 
passionate ?  who  that  has  any  charity  ?  Let  him  say,  if  this  sedition, 
this  contention,  and  these  schisms,  be  upon  my  account,  I  am  ready 
to  depart,  to  go  away  whithersoever  ye  please,  and  do  whatsoever  ye  'l 
shall  command  me :  only  let  the  flock  of  Christ  be  in  peace  with  the 
elders  that  are  set  over  it.  He  that  shall  do  this  shall  get  to  himself  a 
very  great  honour  in  the  Lord ;  and  there  is  no  place  but  what"  will 
be  ready  to  receive  him  :  for  «  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness 
thereof." ■  These  things  they  who  have  their  conversation  towards  God, 
not  to  be  repented  of,  both  have  done  and  will  always  be  ready  to  do. 

•Chosen.  b  Psal.  lxix.  31.  <  Psal.  1.  14.  dPsal.  li.  17.  «Exod.  xxxii. 

Deut.  ix.  /  Once  and  tunce.  e  More,  greater.  *  Blot  out.  '  The  multitude. 

*  Every  place.         »  Psal.  xxiv. 

9  f2 


66  st.  Clement's  first  epistle 

LV.  Nay,  and  even  the  Gentiles  themselves  have  given  us  examples 
of  this  kind :  °  for  we  read  how  many  kings  and  princes,  in  times  of 
pestilence,  being  warned  by  their  orach's,  have  given  up  themeehrefl 

unto  death,  that  by  their  own  blood  they  might  deliver  their  country  > 
from  destruction.  Others'  have  forsaken  their  cities,  that  so  they 
might  put  an  end  to  the  seditions  of  them.  We  know  how  many, 
among  ourselves,  have  given  up  themselves  unto  bonds,  that  thereby 
they  might  free  others  from  them:  others  have  sold  themselTes into 
bondage,  that  they4  might  feed  their  brethren  with  the  price  of  them- 
lehres;  and  even  many  women,  being  strengthened  by  the  grace  of 
God,  have  done  many  glorious  and  manly  things  on  such  occasions. 
The  blessed  Judith,'  when  her  city  was  besieged,  desired  the  elders 
that  they  would  suffer  her  to  go  into  the  camp  of  their  enemies/  and 
she  went  out,  exposing  herself  to  danger,  for  the  love  she  bare  to  her 
country  and  her  people  that  were  besieged ;  and  the  Lord  delivered 
Holofernes  into  the  hands  of  a  woman.  Nor  did  Esther,5  being  per- 
fect in  faith,  expose  herself  to  any  less  hazard,  for  the  delivery  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  ;  for  by  fasting  and 
humbling  herself,  she  entreated  the  great  Maker  of  all  things,  the  God 
of  .spirits,  so  that"  beholding  the  humility  of  her  soul,  he  delivered  the 
people  for  whose  sake  she  was  in  peril. 

LVI.  Wherefore  let  us  also  pray  for  such  as  are  fallen  into  sin : ' 
that,  being  endued  with  humility  and  moderation,  they  may  submit, 
not  unto  us,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  For  by  this  means  they  shall  ob- 
tain1 a  fruitful  and  perfect  remembrance,  with  mercy,  both  in  our 
is  to  God,  and  in  our  mention  of  them  before  his  saints.1  Let  us 
receive  correction,  at  which  no  man  ought  to  repine.  Beloved,  the 
reproof  and  the  correction  which  we  exercise  towards  one  another  is 
good,  and  exceedingly  profitable  ;  for  it  unites  us  the  more  closely  to 
the  will  of  God.  For  so  says  the  Holy  Scripture,  "  the  Lord  corrected 
me,  but  he  did  not  deliver  me  over  unto  death."  w  "For  whom  the 
Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  re- 
l  rivcth.""  "The  righteous,"  saith  he,  "shall  instruct  me  in  mercy, 
and  reprove  mej  but  let  not  oil  of  sinners  make  fat  my  head."* 
And  again  he  saith,  "Happy  i^  the  man  whom  God  correctethj  there- 
tore  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Almighty.  For  he  maketh 
and  bindeth  up ;  he  woundethand  his  hands  make  whole.  He 
shall  deliver  thee  in  six  troubles;  yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  ev3 
touch  thee,     In  famine  he  shall  redeem  thee  from  death ;  and  in  war 

from  the  power  of  the  sword.      Thoti  shalt  he  hid  from  the  scourge  of 


a  Jhit  thtit  ■■  .  iht  cjtimj'l  b  Citizens.  'Many.  d< 

'Judith    *iii.    ix.   x.    xiii.  '  I    ■  'Father   vii.   -v  i i i .  .    trfw. 

I'li.it    of  stluMii.  *  Then    ihtil!   l>e   U   tfi.m  '  \.  c.    Our    fcllow-<-hri-ti.i:i-. 

■  PmL  cwiii.  18.  ■  Pn>%.  in.  1  '.  ■  PltL  c\li.  ."». 


TO   THE   CORINTHIANS.  67 

the  tongue ;  neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  destruction  when  it  cometh. 
Thou  shalt  laugh  at  the  wicked  and  sinners;  neither  shalt  thou  be 
afraid  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  The  wild  beasts  shall  be  at  peace 
with  thee :  then  shalt  thou  know  that  thy  house  shall  be  in  peace ;  and 
the  habitation  of  thy  tabernacle  shall  not  err.  Thou  shalt  know  also 
that  thy  seed  shall  be  great,  and  thy  offspring  as  the  grass  of  the  earth. 
Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  as  the  ripe  corn  that  is  taken  in  due  time, 
like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  its  season.11  Ye  see,  beloved, 
how  there  shall  be  a  defence  to  those  that  are  corrected  of  the  Lord  ; 
for,  being  a  good  instructor,  he  is  willing  to  admonish  us  by  his  holy 
discipline. 

LVII.  Do  ye,  therefore,  who  laid  the  first  foundation  of  this  sedi- 
tion, submit  yourselves  unto  your  priests ; b  and  be  instructed  unto 
repentance,  bending  the  knees  of  your  hearts.  Learn  to  be  subject, 
laying  aside  all  proud  and  arrogant  boasting  of  your  tongues ;  for  it  is 
better  for  you  to  be  found  little,  and  approved  in  the  sheepfold  of 
Christ,0  than  to  seem  to  yourselves  better  than  others,  and  be  cast  out 
of  his  fold/  For  thus  speaks  the  excellent  and  all-virtuous  Wisdom, 
« Behold,  I  will  pour  out  the  word  of  my  spirit  upon  you  ;  I  will 
make  known  my  speech  unto  you.  Because  I  called,  and  ye  would 
not  hear, — I  stretched  out  my  words,  and  ye  regarded  not ;  but  ye 
have  set  at  naught  all  my  counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof, — I 
will  also  laugh  at  your  calamity,  and  mock  when  your  fear  cometh. 
When  your  fear  cometh  as  desolation,  and  your  destruction  as  a  whirl- 
wind, when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you,  then  ye  shall  call 
upon  me,  but  I  will  not  hear  you.  The  wicked  shall  seek  me,  but 
they  shall  not  find  me ;  for  that  they  hated  knowledge,  and  did  not 
seek  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  They  would  not  hearken  unto  my  counsel ; 
they  despised  all  my  reproof:  therefore  shall  they  eat  of  the  fruit  of 
their  own  ways,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  wickedness." c 


LVIII.  Now  God,  the  inspector  of  all  things,  the  Father/  of  spirits, 
and  the  Lord  of  all  flesh — who  hath  chosen  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  us  by  him  to  be  his  peculiar  people — grant  to  every  soul  of  man 
that  calleth  upon  his  glorious  and  holy  name,  faith,  fear,  peace,  long 
suffering,  patience,  temperance,  holiness,  and  sobriety,  unto  all  wTell- 
pleasing  in  his  sight ; s  through  our  high  priest  and  protector  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  be  glory,  and  majesty,  and  power,  and  honour,  unto 
Him,  now  and  for  evermore.     Amen. 


aJob  v.  17,  &c.         b  Elders.         e  See   Junius   in   loc.  dSee    Coteler.   in   loc. 

•  Prov.  i.  23,  &c.        / Master.         s  To  his  name. 


68  st.  Clement's  first  epistle. 

LIX.  The  mcsncngcra  whom  we  have  sent   unto  you — Claudius 
BphebllS,  and  Valerius  Bito,  With  Fortunatus — send  back  to  us  ajrain, 

with  all  speed,  in  peace  and  with  joy,  that  they  may  the  sooner  ac- 
quaintnifl  with  your  peace  and  concord,  so  much  prayed  for  and  de- 
sired by  us,  and  that  we  may  rejoice  in  your  good  order. 

LX.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you,  and  with  all 
that  are  anywhere  called  by  God   through  him,  to  whom  be  honour, 
and  glory,  and   might,  and   majesty,  and  eternal   dominion,  by  Chris*. 
.  •  from  everlasting  to  everlasting.     Amen. 


»  Him. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 

ON  THB 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  POLYCARP  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

Of  the  time  when  St.  Polycarp  wrote  this  Epistle — The  reason  of  its  being  placed  before 
the  Epistles  of  Ignatius — That  67.  Polycarp  wrote  several  other  pieces — yet  nothing 
of  his  now  remaining  but  only  this  Epistle — Whether  this  Epistle  has  been  interpo- 
lated as  those  of  Ignatius  were — The  latter  part  of  it  vindicated  against  the  exceptions 
of  Mons.  Daille,  and  some  others — Of  the  translation  of  it  into  our  own  language  by 
Dr.  Cave — and  of  the  present  edition  of  it. 

1.  The  next  piece  that  follows  in  the  present  collection  is  the  epistle 
of  St.  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians,  in  placing  of  which  I  have  followed 
the  example,  not  so  much  of  our  most  reverend  archbishop  Usher,0  as 
of  St.  Polycarp  himself:  though,  in  the  order  of  time,  the  epistles  of 
Ignatius  ought  to  have  had  the  precedence,  St.  Polycarp  not  writing 
this  letter  to  the  Philippians  till  about,  or  a  little  after,  the  time  that 
glorious  martyr  suffered  for  the  faith  of  Christ ;  as  from  several  pas- 
sages in  the  epistle  itself  may  plainly  be  made  to  appear. 

2.  For,  first,  having  in  his  ninth  chapter  exhorted  the  Philippians 
to  "obey  the  words  of  righteousness,  and  to  exercise  all  patience," 
after  the  examples  of  those  holy  men  whom  they  had  seen  among 
them,  he  particularly  instances  Ignatius6  as  one  of  them.  Now  the 
Acts  of  the  martyrdom  of  that  holy  bishop  tell  us,  that  the  time  when 
they  beheld  his  "  patience  set  forth  before  their  eyes"  was  when  he 
passed  by  them  in  chains  to  Rome,  in  order  to  his  being  cast  to  the 
wild  beasts,  according  to  the  sentence  pronounced  upon  him  by  the 
emperor  Trajan  :c  by  consequence  that  this  epistle  must  have  been 
written  some  time  after  his  condemnation. 

3.  But  St.  Polycarp  goes  yet  farther,  and  in  the  next  words  sup- 
poses that  Ignatius  might  have  been  dead  at  the  time  that  he  wrote  to 
them.  For,  enforcing  his  exhortation  to  them  to  follow  the  examples 
of  Ignatius,  and  the  rest  of  those  excellent  men  whom  he  there  names, 
he  subjoins, — "  Being  confident  of  this,  that  all  these  have  not  run  in 
vain,  but  in  faith  and  righteousness,  and  are  gone  to  the  place  that  was 
due  to  them  from  the  Lord,  with  whom  also  they  suffered ;  for  they 
loved  not  this  present  world,  but  him  who  died  and  was  raised  again 
by  God  for  us."  In  which  words  he  evidently  implies  that  Ignatius 
too,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  those  whom  he  there  mentions,  was  by  this 
time  gone  to  the  "place  that  was  due  to  him  from  the  Lord,  upon  the 


a  Edit.  Polycarp.  et  Ignat.  Oxon.  Annot.   1644.         ^Epist.   of  Polycarp,  num.  Lx. 
Mart,  of  Ignat.  num.  x. 

69 


70  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

account  of  his  sufferings ;"  and  by  consequence  had  finished  his  mar- 
tyrdom. 

4.  It  was,  then,  about  the  time  of  Ignatius's  death  that  St.  Polycarp 
wrote  this  epistle  to  the  Philippians.  And  yet  that  if  this  holy  man 
had  suffered,  it  was  but  a  very  little  time  that  he  had  done  so,  as  i^ 
clear  from  another  passage  of  the  same  epistle,"  where  he  desires  the 
Philippians  to  send  him  word  «  what  they  had  heard  with  any  certainty 
concerning  Ignatius,  and  those  that  went  to  Rome  with  him."  From 
whence  it  appears  that,  though  he  supposed  that  Ignatius  by  that  time 
might  have  Buffered,  yet  he  had  not  received  any  certain  account  of  it, 
but  was  still  to  learn  the  manner  and  circumstances  of  his  passion. 

5.  Now  this  will  lead  us  to  a  yet  more  exact  conjecture  of  the  time 
of  St.  Polycarp \s  writing  the  following  epistle,  viz.  that  it  must  have 
been  just  about  the  time  of  St.  Ignatius's  death  :  it  being  no  way  pro- 
bable that,  had  Ignatius  been  any  long  time  dead,  so  great  a  bishop, 
and  so  dear  a  friend  of  his  as  St.  Polycarp  was,  should  have  been  still 
to  learn  the  certainty  of  it. 

6.  And  this  may  serve,  by  the  way,  not  only  to  fix  the  time  when 
this  epistle  was  written,  namely,  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  our  Lord 
116,  or  in  the  beginning  of  117 ;  but  also  to  show  how  groundless  the 
exception  of  those  men b  is  against  the  authority  of  it,  who  pretend  to 
find  out  a  contradiction  between  the  two  passages  I  have  now  men- 
tioned, and  would  from  thence  infer  either  the  utter  falseness  of  this 
whole  epistle,  or  at  least  conclude  that  this  latter  part  of  it  is  none  of 
Polycarp's,  but  added  by  some  later  hand,  to  give  the  greater  credit 
to  the  epistles  of  St.  Ignatius,  which  they  are  resolved  by  all  means  to 
reject  as  none  of  his.  For,  indeed,  were  not  men  willing  to  be  con- 
tentious, where  is  the  contradiction  they  so  much  boast  of  between  the 
two  places  I  have  before  alleged  ?  Is  it  that  in  the  former  of  them  he 
sets  before  them  the  sufferings  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  exhorts  them  to 
follow  the  example  of  his  patience?  But  it  is  evident  the  sufferings- 
he  there  speaks  of  were  those  which  the  Philippians  had  seen  in  him — 
the  weight  of  his  chains, — the  hardships  of  his  journey, — the  rudeness 
of  the  soldiers  that  guarded  him,  and  of  which  the  blessed  martyr 
himself  complains,  in  cue  of  his  epistles;'  and,  to  add  no  more,  the 
expectation  of  that  cruel  death  he  was  suddenly  to  undergo. 

7.  But  I  Boppoae  the  contradiction  lies  in  what  follows,  that  in  one 
place  '  he  speaks  of  him  M  it'  he  had  already  suffered  ;  and  yet,  in  the 
ether,  desires  the  Philippians  to  Bend  liim  word  what  they  had  heard 
of  it.  New  what  is  there  in  all  this  thai  does  not  Very  well  agree  to- 
gether r     St  Polycarp,  either  by  the  computation  of  the  arrival  of 


"Kpi^t.of  P,.lvrirp.   num.   xiv.  *  Daill.Tii-   in    |  ,\ip.  wxn.p.   M8.Ltr> 

roqtM  ObnnrmL  in  Petnoo,  p.  89,        'Ignat  Bpnt  to  Ike  KomanH.  cap.  v.        dVi(i. 

Daillirum  rt  LtVTOqM,  I<m\  cit. 


ON    ST.    POLYCARP's   EPISTLE.  71 

Ignatius  at  Rome,  or  by  the  consideration  of  the  solemn  festival  that 
was  wont  at  that  time  to  be  held  there,  and  at  which  it  was  usual  to 
exhibit  such  kind  of  spectacles  to  the  people, — or  it  may  be,  lastly,  i 
from  the  accounts  which  he  had  received  of  this  holy  martyr  from  some 
of  those  that  were  with  him,  did  suppose,  nay  if  you  will,  did  not 
doubt,  but  that  Ignatius  was  dead  when  he  wrote  his  epistle  to  the 
Philippians.  Yet,  having  not  hitherto  received  any  certain  account  of 
it,  and  not  being  absolutely  sure  whether  he  had  suffered  or  not, — or, 
if  he  had,  how  he  had  been  treated  by  his  enemies,  and  how  he  had 
behaved  himself  in  his  last  encounter  with  the  beasts, — desires  the 
Philippians,  who  were  much  nearer  to  Rome  than  he  was,  and  might, 
therefore,  very  probably  have  heard  much  later  from  thence  than  he 
had  done,  to  send  him  a  certain  account  of  what  they  knew  as  to  this 
matter.  What  is  there  in  all  this,  I  do  not  say  that  looks  like  a  con- 
tradiction, but  that  is  not  very  natural,  and  particularly  most  becoming 
the  love  and  friendship  of  the  blessed  Polycarp  towards  him  concern- 
ing whom  he  so  diligently  inquired  ?  I  am  sure  Photius,"  who  had 
not  only  read  this  epistle,  but  transcribed  this  last  passage  out  of  it. 
though  a  severe  critic  as  any  that  have  ever  perused  it  since,  saw  no 
contradiction  in  it  to  any  thing  that  went  before ;  for,  if  he  had,  he 
was  not  of  a  humour  to  have  let  it  pass  without  making  some  reflection 
or  other  upon  it. 

8.  Let  me  add  yet  more,  that  neither  could  those  see  the  contradic- 
tion here  pretended,  who,  in  our  present  times,  would  have  been  as 
forward  as  any  to  have  made  use  of  it  to  the  disadvantage  of  this  epis- 
tle, had  they  had  but  the  least  grounds  so  to  do.  I  shall  instance  only 
in  two : — the  first,  the  late  learned  divine  of  Leyden,  Monsieur  le 
Moyne  ; b  who,  though  he  judged  the  passage  relating  to  St.  Ignatius's 
epistles  which  was  wanting  in  his  manuscript  to  be  abrupt,  and  would 
from  thence  argue  against  the  authority  of  it,  yet  has  he  made  no  re- 
flection on  the  words  immediately  following,  in  which  those  others  will 
have  the  contradiction  to  lie. 

9.  The  other  that  I  shall  mention,  in  opposition  to  this  pretence,  is  a 
yet  later  writer,  Ernestus  Tentzelius;0  who,  though  no  great  friend  to 
this  epistle,  which  he  supposes  to  have  been  corrupted,  no  less  than 
those  of  Ignatius  were  in  the  ancient  editions  of  them,  yet  utterly  re- 
fuses to  comply  with  this  objection,  as  not  apprehending  that  there  was 
the  least  ground  for  it. 

10.  But,  to  return  from  this  digression,  in  answer  to  the  exceptions 
of  two  of  the  most  learned  adversaries  of  this  epistle  against  the  credit 
of  it,  though,  as  I  have  now  shown,  St.  Polycarp  wrote  not  to  the 
Philippians  till  after  the  death  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  consequently  this 

a  Photius    Bibl.    tmem.    cxxvi.    p.  305.  *  Proleg.  ad  Var.  Sacr.  in  Polycarp. 

eExercit  Select,  exerc.  iv.  num.  xlii.  p.  157. 


72  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

epistle,  in  order  of  time,  ought  to  have  been  placed  after  those  which 
the  other  wrote  immediately  before  it, — yet  was  it  fit  to  give  this  tie- 
precedency  in  the  following  collection,  both  as  containing  a  most  pro- 
per introduction  to  the  epistles  of  Ignatius,  and  Bfl  having,  in  all  pro- 
bability, been  first  sent,  in  tin-  same  order,  by  St.  Polycarp  to  the 
Philippians. 
11.  For  thus  we  find  that  holy  man  speaking  to  them  in  the  close 

of  his  letter:0  "  The  epistles  of  Ignatius,  which  he  wrote  onto  us,  to- 
gether with  what  others  of  his  have  come  to  our  hands,  we  have 
unto  you  accordingto  your  order;  which  are  subjoined  to  this  epistle." 
So  both  Busebius1  transcribed  it  out  of  the  original  Greek,  and  so  we 
find  it  in  our  ancient  Latin  version,'  which  is  all  that  remains  of  that 
part  of  this  epistle.  From  whence  our  learned  archbishop  Usher," 
with  gnat  reason,  concludes  that  St.  Polycarp  caused  the  copies  of  St. 
is's  epistles  to  be  immediately  added  at  the  end  of  his  own,  and 
seal  them  to  the  Philippians  together  with  it. 

1  J.  And  this,  perhaps,  may  have  been  one  great  means  of  preserv- 
ing this  epistle  of  St.  Polycarp  from  the  fate  that  has  attended  all  the 
;  liis  writings.  For,  being  wont  to  be  transcribed  together  with 
those  of  Ignatius,  and  commonly  placed  at  the  front  of  them,  they 
mutually  helped  to  secure  one  another  ;  whilst  the  rest  of  his  writings, 
tor  want  of  being  thus  collected  together,  have  for  a  long  time  been 
SO  utterly  lost  to  the  world  that  neither  Photius,'  nor  St.  Hierome/  nor 
Eusebius,"  seem  to  have  had  any  particular  catalogue  of  them.  Nor 
hatfa  Irena  us,  the  disciple  of  St.  Polycarp,  given  us  such  a  one. 

13.  Indeed,  for  what  concerns  the  last  of  these,  I  mean  Irena 
he  tells  us  that  this  great  man  did  write  several  epistles,  not  only  to  the 
neighbouring  churches,  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith,  but  even  to  parti- 
cular persons,  for  their  instruction  and  admonition.     But  what  the} 
.  or  to  whom  they  were  sent,  neither  does  he  say,  nor  does  Euse- 
bius,  where  he  speaks  of  the  writings  of  St.  Polycarp,  mention  an\ 
more  than  that  epistle  to  the  Philippians  of  which  we  are  now  discours- 
ing.     And  though  a  lew  later  authors '  pretend  to  give  us  the  very  titles 
:iie  other  of  his  wmkx,  m ■[   have  we    reason   to   doubt,  from  this 
silence  of  those  who  livt  d  the    Dearest  to  his  time,  that  their  authority 
.s  but  small  ;   nor  can  we  say  that  even  the  pieces  which  they  name  are 
uiN  where  to  be  found  at  this  day. 

1  1.    Nor    shall   I    except    here   those    fragments    lately  published    DJ 
•rdentius,"  out  ofVictOT  ( 'apuanus,  and  reprinted  b\  Bishop  Usher, 

'  I'.  !\c  irp.    Bpilt    mini.    xiii.  Mai-r!>.    Hist.    BcclM.    lilt.   lii.   c;ip.  86.  ■Apod 

.  p. 94.        '  Diaaert.  da  Ignat  EpiaLcap.  ii.        'Phota  BibL tmem. czxn. 

!).•  Script.  Beds*  in  Polycarp.  Bcdaa.  Kb.hr.  c  l">. 
ad  Florin.  apadEoaeb.  Ili-t.  Bcclaa.lib.  *.  <•  90.        '8    Maximm   Pi  tlog.  in  Dkmya. 

Vreop.    Studaa  in  Polycarp.  \c.  \'i<l.  I  i1  Bit. ili-  Script  [gnat.  p.  ".. 

,  Select  da  Polycarp^  num.  kxxtl  kxxtu.  '  A<1  Eb.  di 
p.81. 


ON    ST.  POLYCARP  S   EPISTLE.  73 

in  his  appendix  to  Ignatius  j  in  which,  as  there  are  some  things  which 
neither  father  Halloix  nor  our  learned  Usher"  could  approve  of  as 
written  by  St.  Polycarp,  so  the  distance  of  himb  who  was  the  first  col- 
lector of  them  from  the  time  of  that  blessed  martyr,  and  the  manifest 
proofs  he  has,  on  other  occasions,  given  of  his  little  care  and  judgment 
in  distinguishing  the  works  of  the  ancient  fathers  who  lived  any  long 
time  before  him  (not  to  say  any  thing  of  the  passages  themselves  as- 
cribed to  St.  Polycarp,0  but  little  agreeable  to  the  apostolic  age) ;  all 
these  considerations  have  justly  restrained  learned  men  from  giving; 
any  great  credit  to  those  fragments,  or  from  receiving  them  as  belong- 
ing in  any  wise  to  so  ancient  an  author. 

15.  But  whatever  becomes  of  these  fragments,  certain  it  is  that  the 
epistle  which  I  have  here  subjoined  is  the  genuine  work  of  this  holy 
man,  and  worthy  of  that  great  character  which  antiquity  has  given  of 
it.  Even  Monsieur  Daille d  himself  confesses  that,  excepting  only  the 
close  of  it,  against  which  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  declare  himself, 
there  is  nothing  in  it  that  either  ought  to  offend  any,  or  that  may  be 
thought  unworthy  of  Polycarp.  But  Le  Moynee  goes  yet  farther :  he 
tells  us  that  he  does  not  see  how  any  one  can  entertain  the  least  suspi- 
cion against  it — that  there  is  not,  perhaps,  any  work  extant  that  has 
more  certain  evidences  of  its  being  genuine  than  this — in  short,  that, 
if  it  shall  be  lawful  to  doubt  of  this,  there  will  be  no  monument  of 
antiquity  left  which  we  may  not  as  well  call  in  question,  and  reject  as 
spurious. 

16.  Indeed,  so  general  is  the  reception  which  learned  men/  on  all 
sides,  have  given  to  this  epistle,  that  I  might  well  omit  any  farther  dis- 
course in  confirmation  of  the  credit  and  authority  of  it ;  but  yet,  see- 
ing there  have  been  two  things  started  by  some  of  late,  if  not  utterly 
to  destroy,  yet  at  least  to  lessen  the  reputation  of  this  piece,  I  will 
consider,  in  short,  what  may  fairly  be  replied  to  both  their  exceptions. 

17.  Now  the  first  is  that  of  Tentzelius/  in  his  exercitation  upon  this 
epistle;  who,  though  he  allows  it  to  be  undoubtedly  genuine,  yet  sup- 
poses it  to  have  been  corrupted  by  the  same  hand  that  we  confess"  did 
corrupt  the  epistles  of  Ignatius,  about  600  years  after  Christ.  But  to 
this  I  reply,  first,  that  it  is  allowed  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  epistle 
that  may  give  any  just  grounds  for  the  suspicion  of  any  such  fraud  as 
this,  it  being  acknowledged,  even  by  Monsieur  Daille  himself  (one  of 
the  greatest  adversaries  of  it)  to  be  an  epistle  in  all  respects  worthy  of 
St.  Polycarp,  excepting  only  in  the  close  of  it,  which  I  shall  more  par- 

"Usserii   Annot.  loc.  cit.  pp.  72,  73.  'Victor  Capuanus:  he  lived  anno   545. 

c  Cave  Hist.  Liter,  in  Polycarp.,  p.  28.  Le  Moyne  Prol.  ad  Var.  Sacr.  Tentzel.  Exercit. 
Select,  iv.  de  Polycarp.  n.  xlix.     Du  Pin.  Bibl.  Eccl.  in  Polycarp,  &c.  d  De  Scriptis 

I^natian.  cap.  xxxii.  «  Prol.  ad  Var.  Sacr.  tom.n.  in  Polycarp.  /  Vid.  apud  Tentzel.  de 
Polycarp.  Dissert,  iv.  num.  xli.  p.  157.  s  Exercit.  Select.  Exerc.  iv.  num.  xlii.  &c.  47. 
h  Usserii  Dissert,  de  Epist.  I^nat.  cap.  vi.  p.  33. 

10  G 


74  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

tieularly  consider  by  and  by.  So  that  either  we  have  this  epistle  pure 
and  uncorrupted  as  it  WU  brat  written,  or  at  least  we  have  it  so  little 
prejudiced  by  any  alterations  thai  may  have  been  made  in  it,  that  there 
is  nothing  in  the  epistle,  as  it  DOW  is,  dangerous,  in  point  either  of 
faith  or  manners,  or  thai  might  not  have  well  enough  been  written  by 
St.  Pol/carp.  But  tin-;  was  not  the  case  with  the  epistles  of  St.  Igna- 
tius,0 which  not  only  laboured  under  many  impertinences  unbecoming 
character  of  that  gnat  man,  but  were  fraught  with  many  things 
that  were  altogether  fabulous;  nay,  if  we  may  credit  Archbishop 
Usher,*  had  some  passages  in  them  that  tended  to  corrupt  the  very 
faith  of  Christ,  in  one  of  the  most  considerable  points  of  it. 

18.  But,  secondly,  that  the  epistles  of  St.  Ignatius  had  been  cor- 
rupted was  evident  from  disagreement c  of  the  copies  which  we  usually 
had  of  them  from  the  quotations  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  first  five 

•enturies  out  of  them.  Now  this  was  a  most  unquestionable  demon- 
stration of  their  having  been  changed  from  what  they  were  in  those 
first  ages  in  which  those  fathers  lived  ;  and  accordingly  proved  to  be 
so,  when  the  old  Latin  version  of  Bishop  Usher  first,  and  then  the 
Florentine  Greek  edition  of  the  learned  Isaac  Vossius,  came  to  be 

<un] >ared  widi  those  editions  that  had  before  been  extant  of  them. 
But  neither  does  this  exception  appear  against  the  present  epistle, 
which  agrees  with  what  is  quoted  both  by  Eusebius  d  and  others  out 
of  it  ;  and  thereby  clearly  shows  our  present  copy  to  be  sincere  and 
uncorrupted. 

19.  Seeing  then  there  is  nothing  but  a  mere  conjecture  forthe  depra- 
vation of  this  epistle,  and  such  just  reason  to  conclude  that  there  is  no 
good  foundation  for  it  (to  be  sure  none  that  may  compare  with  the 
arguments  that  we  have  against  it),  I  think  we  may  conclude  that  for 
any  thing  yet  appearing  to  the  contrary,  we  not  only  have  the  genuine 
epistle  of  St.  Polycarp,  but  that  epistle  free  from  any  designed  corrup- 
tions  or  depravations  of  it. 

20.  Nor  is  there  any  more,  I  do  not  say  that  there  is  much  less, 
weight  iu  the  other  supposal  of  Monsieur  Daille,  continued  and  abet- 
ted by  his  learned  defender,  Monsieur  Latroque,1  though  without  anv 
other  or  greater  proof  than  what  had  been  before  fully  answered  by 
our  most  learned  and  judicious  Bishop  Pearson;  namely,  that  this 
epistle  originally  ended  at  the  doxelogy,  which  we  meet  with  in  chapter 
the  twelfth,  and  what  follows  concerning  the  epistles  of  St  Ignatius 

Ben    added  to  it  by  some   latter  hand.      But    now  what    proof  {\<^ 
they  oiler  of  this.'   what  authority  have  the]  to  support  BUCh  a  supposi- 

a  Vid.   DiMCrt.   Unuer.  0.  K.  \i.   p,  I  ...  ,\  |  .  ■'  Il.i.l.  .-.  xv.   v.  UN,     This  Dr.  I 

has  confirmed,  proving  tin-  interpolator  of  I^natius's  I'j>ist[e«;  to  huve  been  an  Ann. 
Bpicileg.  PP.  WC  ii.   pp.  22f>,  '226.  f  I'sserii  Dissert.  Ignat.  rap.  iii.p.12.  *E 

Beak*  lit>.  iii.  e.  ac.     PtnUni  BftL  Inmn.  eacxvL  p.  :ior>.         '  Vid.  Lti 

in  Vind.  Pcara.  p.  65,  66. 


ON    ST.  POLYCARP's   EPISTLE.  75 

tion  ?  This  they  pretend  not  to.  All  they  have  to  say  is  that  the 
doxology  which  we  find  there  seems  to  imply  that  the  epistle  originally 
went  no  farther,  and  that  in  what  follows  there  is  a  flat  contradiction 
to  what  went  before ;  the  close  of  the  epistle,  speaking  of  Ignatius  as 
if  he  were  still  alive,  whom  the  true  Polycarp  had  before  set  forth  to 
the  Philippians  as  having  "suffered,"  and  "been  gone  to  the  place 
that  was  prepared  for  him." 

21.  As  for  what  concerns  the  latter  of  these  suggestions,  I  have 
already  shown  how  vain  and  groundless  it  is.  Nor  can  we  reasonably 
suppose  that  any  one  who  designed  to  serve  a  turn,  by  corrupting  such 
an  epistle  as  this,  would  have  been  either  so  negligent  as  not  once  to 
read  over  the  piece  he  was  about  to  make  so  considerable  an  addition 
to,  or,  having  read  it,  would  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  have,  without 
any  need,  subjoined  a  request  to  the  Philippians,  directly  contrary  to 
what  the  true  Polycarp  had  told  them  before,  and  which,  by  conse- 
quence, would  be  sure  to  discover  the  fraud,  and  frustrate  the  design 
of  it. 

22.  So  little  appearance  of  reason  is  there  in  this  suggestion,  which 
yet  these  learned  men  insist  upon  as  their  main  argument  against  the 
latter  part  of  this  epistle.  As  for  the  other  objection  which  they  bring 
against  it,  viz.  that  St.  Polycarp  must  have  concluded  at  the  twelfth 
chapter,  because  of  the  vow  which  he  there  makes  for  those  to  whom 
he  wrote;  I  reply,  first,  that  this  is  at  the  best  but  a  very  uncertain 
guess ;  seeing  it  is  notorious,  to  all  that  have  ever  read  the  epistles, 
either  of  the  apostles  or  those  that  followed  after,  that  nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  meet  with  such  kind  of  conclusions,  not  only  in  the 
end,  but  in  the  beginning0  and  middle ;  *  in  short,  in  all  the  parts  of 
their  epistles.  To  look  no  farther  than  the  epistle  with  which  we  have 
begun  this  collection,  of  St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians,  how  many  of 
these  sorts  of  stops  may  we  find  in  the  progress  of  it  ?  I  am  sure  there 
are  not  less  than  seven  or  eight  of  them.  But  I  suppose  he  would  be 
thought  very  ridiculous  who  should  therefore  reject  all  that  followed 
the  first  of  these  as  none  of  St.  Clement's,  but  pieced  on  to  the  end 
of  his  epistle  by  some  other  hand,  merely  because  the  doxology  seemed 
to  imply  his  having  concluded  there. 

23.  But  to  lay  aside  conjectures,  and  proceed  to  that  which  will  put 
a  final  end  to  this  difficulty,  I  observe,  secondly,  that  this  passage, 
which  these  men  deny  to  be  St.  Polycarp's,  and  suppose  to  have  been 
added  to  it  by  some  later  hand,  is  expressly  quoted  by  Eusebiusc  in 
his  Ecclesiastical  History,  as  a  part  of  this  epistle.  If  therefore  it  be 
the  addition  of  some  other  hand,  it  is  evident  it  was  made  to  it  before 
Eusebius's  time,  that  is  to  say,  within  two  hundred  years  after  the  time 

•See  1  Tim.  i.  17.  >Ephes.  iii.  20.     Rom.  xv.  33.     Dr.  Hammond  Annot.  in 

Kom.  xiv.        « Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  c.  36. 


76  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

of  St.  Polycarp's  writing  of  it ;  and  whether  this  be  probable  we  will 
now  more  particularly  inquire. 

24.  For  the  better  dealing  of  which,  I  must  observe  that  this  epistle 
of  St.  Polycarp,  like  that  of  St  Clement  foregoing,  was  for  several 
hundreds  of  years  wont  to  be  publicly  read  in  the  churches  of  Asia  : 
so  St.  Jerome"  informs  us;  or,  as  his  interpreter  Sophronius  renders 
him,  in  the  synod  or  convention  of  Asia;  by  which  a  [earned  man 
supposes  we  are  to  understand  some  common  meetings  of  the  Chris- 
tians in  those  parts,  answerable  to  the  like  assemblies  of  the  Gentiles 
there  ;  and  that  in  these  this  epistle  was  wont  to  be  read  to  them. 

25.  Hence  Irena3USc  speaks  of  it  as  an  epistle  that  was  in  even 
body's  hand,  and  obvious  to  be  read  by  any,  for  the  benefit  of  their 
faith  and  manners ;  which  being  so,  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  but 
that  so  inquisitive  a  searcher  into  antiquity  as  Eusebius  was  must  needs 
have  been  very  well  acquainted  with  it,  and  doubtless  have  had  a  true 
and  genuine  copy  of  it.  Seeing  then  he  produces  this  passage  as  a 
part  of  this  epistle,  which  was  generally  received  as  authentic  in  his 
days ;  and  that  the  epistle  itself,  being  spread  into  all  hands,  and  pub- 
licly read  in  the  eastern  churches,  immediately  after  the  death  of  its 
great  author,  could  not  have  been  corrupted  or  altered  but  the  cheat 
must  needs  have  been  discovered  (of  which  yet  we  have  not  the  least 
intimation  in  all  antiquity) ;  I  think  it  cannot  be  doubted  but  that 
this,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  that  epistle,  was  written  by  St.  Polycarp 
himself,  and  not  added  to  this  epistle  by  some  later  hand,  as  is  sug- 
gested, not  only  without  all  ground,  but  against  such  plain  and  unan- 
swerable evidence  to  the  contrary. 

26.  Having  said  thus  much  in  vindication  of  this  epistle,  and  to 
clear  it  from  those  prejudices  that  have  of  late/been  raised  against  it, 
it  remains  only  for  me  to  observe  that,  though  the  following  translation 
was  truly  made  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  copies  of  it  set  out  by 
Bishop  Usher  first,  and  since  reprinted  by  Cotelerius  in  his  collection 
of  the  apostolical  fathers,  yet  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  this  epistle 
has  appeared  in  our  language.  For  our  most  diligent  and  learned 
countryman,  Dr.  Cave,d  having  a  just  respect  to  the  worth  of  a  piece 
so  highly  applauded  among  the  ancients,  and  so  well   deserving   the 

esteem  of  all  good  men, thought  it  would  be  no  unuseful  digression  to 

nt  to  his  reader  so  venerable  a  monument  of  the  primitive  church, 
and   therefore    subjoined    it  entirely   to   his   account  of  the  life  of  St. 
Polycarp,  in  a  most  accurate  English  translation  of  it. 
87.  It  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  more  to  the  reader's  satisfaction 

to  have  met  with   that    translation  of  this    epistle    here,  than   to   find 

a  Hicron.  de  Script,  in  Polycarp.  »  L-    M    .        Prologum.   "I  Vtt  Sacr.  Ap a  I 

Eu*-t>.    Hist.    Bab*  li".  iv.   cap.  M.  ^  Dr.  ('.»%»•  '|  Ltal  of  tii.-   AfOftotiotl  Fatlier  . 

in  Ht.  Polycarp. 


ON    ST.  POLYCARP's    EPISTL^.  77 

another,  which  he  may  have  just  reason  to  suppose  can  never  equal 
that  which  was  finished  by  so  great  a  hand.  And  indeed  I  could  have 
been  glad  to  have  rendered  the  following  collection  more  considerable, 
by  the  reputation  of  a  translation  made  by  so  eminent  an  author.  But 
however,  as  it  now  is,  I  hope  it  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  pious 
peruser  of  it,  who,  whatever  other  defects  he  may  find  in  it,  may  yet, 
I  am  pretty  confident,  depend  upon  the  exactness  of  the  translation ; 
seeing,  I  perceive,  by  an  after  collation  of  it,  that  it  does  not  differ,  in 
anything  that  is  material,  from  that  of  the  judicious  and  worthy  Dr. 
Cave. 


THE 

EPISTLE   OF  ST.  POLYCARP 

TO 

THE  PHILIPPIANS. 


Polycarp,  and  the  Presbyters  that  are  with  him,  to  the  Church  of 
God  which  isa  at  Philippi :  mercy  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  God 
Almighty,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  be  multiplied. 

I.  I  rejoice  greatly  with  you,  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye 
received  the  images  of  a  true  love,  and  accompanied  as  it  behoved 
you  those  who  are  in  bonds,  becoming  saints,  which  are  the  crowns 
of  such  as  are  truly  chosen  by  God  and  our  Lord ;  as  also  that  the 
root  of  the  faith,  which  was  preached  from  ancient  times,  remains  firm 
in  you6  to  this  day,  and  brings  forth  fruit  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  suffered  himself  to  be  brought  even  to  the  death  for  our  sins. 
"  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death :"  r 
m  whom,  having  not  seen,  ye  love ;  in  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him 
not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  ;,N 
into  which  many  desire  to  enter,  knowing  that  "  by  grace  ye  are 
saved," '  not  by  works,  but  by  the  will  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ. 

II.  Wherefore,  girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind/  serve  the  Lord 
with  fear,  and  in  truth  ;•  laying  aside  all  empty  and  vain  speech,  and 
the  error  of  many ;  "  believing  in  him  that  raised  up  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead,  and  hath  given  him  glory""  and  a  throne  at  his 
right  hand  ;  to  whom  all  things  are  made  subject,  "  both  that  are  in 
heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth:'"  whom  every  living  creature*  shall 
worship  ;  who  shall  come  to  be  the  judge  of  the  quick  and  dead  ; 
whose  blood  God  shall  require  of  them  that  believe  not  in  him.  But 
he  that  raised  Christ'  up  from  the  dead  shall  al  o  raise  up  us  in  like 
manner,  if  we  do  his  will,  and  walk  according  to"  his  commandments, 
and  love  those  things  which  he  lored  ;  abstaining  from  all  unrighteous- 

,n  "  inordinate0  affection,  and  love  of  money,  from  evil  speaking, 
false  witness ;  not  tendering  eril  foi  evil  or  railing  for  railing,"  m 
striking  for  striking,  or  coning  fbf  coning;  but  remembering  what  the 
Lord  has  taught  us  saying,'  "Judge  Dot,  and  ye  shall  not  be  judged  ; 

■  Sojourncth.  b  Firm    root    remains    in    y<>u.  *Adi    ii.    14.  *lFlt 

«Eph.  ii.  8.         HP*.  LIS.         rN.iL  11.         M  IVt.  i  II.         •  Phil.  n.  m. 

»/.  ■•'.'(.  l  Him.  m  In.  "Itijustm.  '  I'l'li-    iv.     l'l.     ('  !  IVt. 

ill.  9.        ?  Said  to  i 

78 


TO   THE    PHILIPPIANS.  79 

forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven."  Be  ye  merciful,  and  ye  shall  obtain 
mercy:  "for  with  the  same  measure  that  ye  mete  withal,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again."0  And  again,  "Blessed  are  the  poor,  and 
they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  ;  for  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  God." b 

III.  These  things,  my  brethren,  I  took  not  the  liberty  of  myself  to 
write  unto  you  concerning  righteousness,  but  you  yourselves  before 
encouraged  me  to  it;  for  neither  can  I,  nor  any  other  such  as  I  am, 
come  up  to  the  wisdom  of  the  blessed  and  renowned  Paul,  who,  being 
himself  in  person  with  those  who  then  lived,  did  with  all  exactness 
and  soundness  teach  the  word  of  truth,0  and,  being  gone  from  you, 
wrote  an  epistle d  to  you  ;  into  which  if  you  look,  you  will  be  able  to 
edify  yourselves  in  the  faith  that  has  been  delivered  unto  you,  which  is 
the  mother  of  us  all ;  being  followed  with  hope,  and  led  on  by  a 
general  love,  both  towards  God,  and  towards  Christ,  and  towards  our 
neighbour.  For,  if  any  man  has e  these  things,  he  has  fulfilled  the 
law  of  righteousness ;  for  he  that  has  charity  is  far  from  all  sin. 

IV.  But  "the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil."7  Knowing 
therefore  that,  as  "  we  brought  nothing  into  this  world,  so  neither  may 
we  carry  any  thing  out  ;"ff  let  us  arm  ourselves71  with  the  armour  of 
righteousness,  and  teach  ourselves  first  to  walk  according  to  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord,  and  then  our  wives  to  walk  likewise  accord- 
ing to*  the  faith  that  is  given  to  them  in  charity*  and  in  purity,  loving 
their  own  husbands  with  all  sincerity,1  and  all  others  alike  with  all  tem- 
perance ;  and  to  bring  up  their  children  in  the  instruction  and m  fear 
of  the  Lord.  The  widows  likewise  teach  that  they  be  sober  as  to  what 
concerns  the  faith  of  the  Lord,  praying  always  for  all  men ;  being  far 
from  all  detraction,  evil-speaking,  false  witness,  from  covetousness,  and 
from  all  evil;  knowing  that  they  are  the  altars  of  God,  whon  sees  all 
blemishes,  and  from  whom  nothing  is  hid  ;  who  searches  out  the  very 
reasonings,  and  thoughts,  and  secrets  of  our  hearts. 

V.  Knowing  therefore  that  God  is  not  mocked,  we  ought  to  walk 
worthy  both  of  his  command  and  of  his  glory.  Also  the  deacons 
must  be  blameless  before  him,0  as  the  ministers  of  God  in  Christ,  and 
not  of  men ;  not  false  accusers,  nor  double-tongued ;  not  lovers  of 
money,  but  moderate11  in  all  things;  compassionate,  careful;  walking 
according  to  the  truth  of  the  Lord,  who  was  the  servant  of  all ;  whom 
if  we  please  in  this  present  world,  we  shall  also  be  made  partakers  of 
that  which  is  to  come,  according  as  he  has  promised  to  us  that  he  will 
raise  us  up  from  the  dead,  and  that,  if  we  shall  walk  worthy  of  him, 


a  Matt.  vii.  1.  Luke  vi.  37,  38.  h  Matt.  v.  3, 10.  Luke  vi.  20.  e  rrepi  dMOcias, 
concerning  truth.  d  Epistles.  Vid.  Annot.  Coteler.  in  loc.  ■  Be  within.  f  Begin- 
ning of  all  troubles  or  difficulties,  ^aXc^cS*'.  ?  1  Tim.  vi.  7.  *  Be  armed.  '  In. 
*  Love.         •  Truth.         m  Of  the.         n  And  that  he.        °  His  righteousness.       t  Continent. 


80  THE    EPISTLE    OF    ST.  POLYl'ARP 

we  shall  also  reign  together  with  him,  if  we  believe.  In  like  manner 
the  younger  men  must  be  unblamable  in  all  things;  above  all  taking 
care  of  their  purity,  and  to  restrain  themselves  from  all  evil.  For  it  is 
good  to  be  cut  off  frmu  the  lusts  thai  arc  in  the  world  ;  because  every 
such  "lust  warreth  against  the  spirit,"*  and  «  neither  fornicators,  nor 
effeminate,  nor  abusers  of  themselw  i  with  mankind,  shall  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God,"b  nor  they  who  do  such  things  as  are  foolish  and 
unreasonable.  Wherefore  ye  must  needsabstairi  from  all  these  things, 
hi dng  subject  to  the  priests'  and  deacons,  as  unto  God  and  CI 
The  virgins  admonish  to  walk  in  a  spotless  and  pure  conscience. 

VI.  Ami  let  the  elders'1  be  compassionate  and  merciful  towards  all ; 
turning '  them  from  their  errors ;  seeking  out  those  that  are  weak  ;  not 
forgetting  the  widows,  the  fatherless,  and  the  poor;  but  always  "pro- 
viding what  is  good  both  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man  ;"7  abstaining 
from  all  wrath,  respect  of  persons,  and  unrighteous  judgment;  and 
especially  being  free  from  all  covetousness :  not  easy  to  believe*  any 
thing  against  any  ;  not  severe  in  judgment,  knowing  that  we  are  all 
debtors  in  point  of  sin.  If  therefore  we  pray  to  the  Lord  that  he  would 
forgive  us,  we  ought  also  to  forgive  others,  for  we  are  all  in  the  sight 
Of  our  Lord  and  God,  and  "  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat 
of  Christ,"1  and  shall  every  one  give  an  account  of  himself.  Let  us 
therefore  serve  him  in  fear,  and  with  all  reverence,  as  both  himself 
hath  commanded,  and  as  the  apostles  who  have  preached  the  gospel 
unto  us,  and  the  prophets  who  have  foretold  the  coming  of  our  Lord, 
have  taught  us;  being  zealous  of  what  is  good  ;  abstaining  from  all 
offence  and  from  false  brethren,  and  from  those  who  bear  the  name  of 
Christ  in  hypocrisy,  who  deceive  vain  men. 

\  II.  For  »  whosoever  does  not  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh,  he  is  antichrist ;""  and  whoever  does  not  confess  his  suffering 
upon  the  cross'  is  from  the  devil ;  and  whosoever  perverts  the  oracles 
of  the  Lord  to  his  own  lusts,  and  says  that  there  shall  neither  be  any 
resurrection  nor  judgment,  he  is  the  first-born  of  Satan.  Wherefore, 
leaving  the  vanity  of  many,  and  their  false  doctrines,  let  us  return  to 
the  word  that  was  delivered  to  us  from  the  beginning  ;  "  watching  unto 
prayer,""  and  persevering  in  lasting;  with  supplication  beseeching 
the  all-seeing  God  "not  to  lead  us  into  temptation,""  as  the  Lord  hath 
said,  "  The  spirit  truly  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak."' 

\  III.  Lei  us,  therefore,  without  erasing,  hold  stedfastly  to  him  who 

II  hope,  and   the  earnest  Of  OUI   righteousness,  even  Jesus  Christ, 

"who    his  own    self  bare  our  sins  in  hu  OWn  bodv  00  the   tree  ;   who 

did  do  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth,"  '  but  Buflere  1  all  tor 

•lPetii.  11.        ■'•  i  Cor.  m.  '.».  i<>.        •Elder*        'JSmtftmt.        •■ 

4.         /Rom.  xii.  17.  rflb  *  Matt   xii.   86.      Horn.  iv.    10.      I  Cor. 

v.  10.        •  For,        '  l  John  iv.  B,        '  Vk   wnrfjfidtan  of  iht  mm,        ■  l  Pet  iv.  7. 

".Matt,  ft  13.  °MatL  xxvi.  11.  P  1  P.  t.  li.  83,  M, 


TO   THE    PHILIPPIANS.  81 

us,  that  we  might  live  through a  him.  Let  us,  therefore,  imitate  his 
patience,  and,  if  we  suffer  for  his  name,  let  us  glorify  him  ;  for  this 
example  he  has  given  us  by  himself,  and  so  have  we  believed. 

IX.  Wherefore  I  exhort  all  of  you  that  ye  obey  the  word  of  right- 
eousness, and  exercise  all  patience,  which  ye  have  seen  set  forth  before 
your  eyes,  not  only  in  the  blessed  Ignatius,  and  Zozimus,  and  Rufus, 
but  in  others  among  yourselves,  and  in  Paul  himself,  and  the  rest  of 
the  apostles.  Being  confident b  of  this,  that  all  these  have  not  run  in 
vain,  but  in  faith  and  righteousness,  and  are  gone  to  the  place  that  was 
due  to  them  from  the  Lord,  with  whom  also  they  suffered  ;  for  they 
loved  not  this  present  world,  but  him  who  died,  and  was  raised  again 
by  God  for  us. 

X.  Stand  therefore  in  these  things,  and  follow  the  example  of  the 
Lord  ;  being  firm  and  immutable  in  the  faith,  lovers  of  the  brotherhood, 
lovers  of  one  another ;  companions  together  in  the  truth,0  being  kind 
and  gentle  towards  each  other/  despising  none.  When  it  is  in  your 
power  to  do  good,  defer  it  not ;  for  "  charity  delivereth  from  death."' 
"Be  all  of  you  subject  one  to  another,  having/  your  conversation 
honest e  among  the  Gentiles;"  that,  by  your  good  works,  both  ye 
yourselves  may  receive  praise,  and  the  Lord  may  not  "  be  blasphemed 
through  you."  *  But  wo  be  to  him  by  whom  the  name  of  the  Lord  is 
blasphemed.  Therefore  teach  all  men  sobriety,  in  which  do  ye  also 
exercise  yourselves. 

XI.  I  am  greatly  afflicted  for  Valens,  who  was  once  a  presbyter 
among  you,  that  he  should  so  little  understand  the  place  that  was  given 
to  him  in  the  church.  Wherefore  I  admonish  you  that  ye  abstain  from 
covetousness,*  and  that  ye  be  chaste,  and  true  of  speech.  "Keep 
yourselves  from  all  evil.""  For  he  that  in  these  things  cannot  govern 
himself,  how  shall  he  be  able  to  prescribe  them  to  another  ?  If  a  man 
does  not  keep  himself  from  covetousness,1  he  shall  be  polluted  with 
idolatry,  and  be  judged  as  if  he  were  a  Gentile.  But  who  of  you  are 
ignorant  of  the  judgment  of  God?  "  Do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints 
shall  judge  the  world,""1  as  Paul  teaches?  But  I  have  neither  per- 
ceived nor  heard  any  thing  of  this  kind  in  you  among  whom  the 
blessed  Paul  laboured,"  and  who  are  named  in  the  beginning  of  this 
epistle  :  for  he  glories  of  you  in  all  the  churches,  who  then  only  knew 
God  ;  for  we  did  not  then  know  him.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  I  am 
exceedingly  sorry  both  for  him  and  for  his  wife,  to  whom  God  grant  a 
true  repentance.  And  be  ye  also  moderate  upon  this  occasion,  and 
look  not  upon  such  as  enemies ;  but  call  them  back  as  suffering  and 

a  In.     1  Pet.  iii.  14,  &c.  b  Persuaded.  e  Associated  in  truth.         d  Yielding  to 

each  other  in  the  mildness  of  the  Lord.  «Tobitxii.  9.         /  1  Pet.  ii.  12.         1  Unim- 

provable.        A  Rom.  ii.  24.     Titus  ii.  5.  '  Concupiscence,  or  immoderate  and  filthy  lusts. 

So  Dr.  Hammond  on  Rom.  i.  29.  i.         *  1  Thess.  v.  22.  Eph.  v.  5.  Coloss.  ii.  5.         '  As- 
before,  Dr.  Hammond  on  1  Cor.  v.  10.  i.         m  I  Cor.    i.  2.  "Phil.  i. 

11 


82  THE    EPISTLE    OF    ST.  POLYCARP. 

erring  members,  that  ye  may  save  your  whole  body  ;  for  by  so  doing 
ye  shall  edify  your  ownseh ■■ 

XII.  For  I  trust  thai  ye  are  well  exercised  in  the  Holy  Script' 
and  that  nothing  is  hid  from  you  :  hut  at  present  it  is  not  granted  unto 
me  to  practise  that  which  is  written/  "  Be  angry  and  sin  not;"  and 
again,  "  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath/1  Blessed  is  he 
that  helieveth  and  rememhereth  these  things,  which  also  I  trust  you  do. 
Now  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  himself, 
who  is  our  everlasting  high  priest,  the  Son  of  God,  even  Jesus  Christ, 
build  you  up  in  faith  and  in  truth,  and  in  all  meekness  and  lenity,  in 
patience  and  long-suffering,  in  forbearance  and  chastity ;  and  grant 
unto  you  a  lot  and  portion  among  his  saints,  and  us  with  you,  and  to 
all  that  are  under  the  heavens  who  shall  believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  his  Father,  who  "  raised  him  from  the  dead."  b  Pray 
for  all  the  saints  ;  pray  also  for  "  kings c  and  all  that  are  in  authority, "d 
and  for  those  who  persecute  you  and  hate  you,  and  for  the  enemies  of 
the  cross,  that  your  fruit  may  be  manifest  in  all,  and  that  ye  may  be 
perfect  in  Christ.8 

XIII.  Ye  wrote  to  me/  both  ye  and  also  Ignatius,  that  if  any  one 
went  from  hence  into  Syria  he  should  bring  your  letters  with  him, 
which  also  I  will  take  care  of  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  a  convenient 
opportunity,  either  by  myself  or  him  whom  I  shall  send  upon  your 
account.  The  epistles  of  Ignatius,  which  he  wrote  unto  us,*  together 
with  what  others  of  his  have  come  to  our  hands,  we  have  sent  to  you 
according  to  your  order,  which  are  subjoined  to  this  epistle,  by  which 
ye  may  be  greatly  profited  ;  for  they  treat  of  faith  and  patience,  and  of 
till  things  that  pertain  to  edification  in  the  Lord"  Jesus. 

XIV.  What  you  know  certainly  of  Ignatius,  and  those  that  are  with 
him,  signify  unto  us. 

These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  by  Crescens,  whom   by  this 
present  epistle  I  have  recommended  to  you,  and  do  now  again  com- 
mend ;  for  he  has  had  his  conversation  without  blame  among  us,  and 
I  suppose   also  with  you.     Ye  will  also  have   regard  unto  his 
when  she  shall  come   unto  you.      Be  ye  safe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  in  favour  with  all  yours.      Amen.1 

m.   I'h.i!.  iv.  6.    Eph.fcr.Mi        *(Jul.  i.  I.        e  l  Tim.  ii.  1,2. 
\  prime**.         *  Him.         !  S,c  Anunt.  l.'ssor.  in  loc.         *  i.  t.  to  himself  and 
'iur.li  of  Smyrna.  *  Our  J/ira.         *  His  zrare  tfl  mth  you  all.    Amen. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 


EPISTLES  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS. 

Of  the  different  editions  of  St.  Ignatius'*  Epistles,  which  are  here  translated  from  that 
of  Isaac  Vossius,  and  according  to  the  enumeration  made  by  Eusebius  of  them — The 
authority  of  these  Epistles  vindicated  against  the  objections  raised  of  late  against  them 
— The  Epistle  to  St.  Polycai-p,  one  of  those  mentioned  by  Eusebius — The  exception 
against  it  taken  from  the  substance  of  the  Epistle  itself  answered — A  short  account 
of  the  following  translation  of  all  of  them. 

1.  Before  I  enter  upon  that  account  which  I  am  to  give  of  the 
epistles  of  St.  Ignatius,  (the  next  that  follow  in  the  present  collection,) 
it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  observe  that  there  have  been  considerable 
differences  in  the  editions  of  the  epistles  of  this  holy  man,  no  less  than 
in  the  judgment  of  our  latter  critics  concerning  them.  To  pass  by  the 
first  and  most  imperfect  of  them,  the  best  that  for  a  long  time  was 
extant  contained  not  only  a  great  number  of  epistles  falsely  ascribed  to 
this  author,  but  even  those  that  were  genuine  so  altered  and  corrupted 
that  it  was  hard  to  find  out  the  true  Ignatius  in  them. 

2.  The  first  that  began  to  remedy  this  confusion,  and  to  restore  this 
great  writer  to  his  primitive  simplicity,  was  our  most  reverend  and 
learned  Archbishop  Usher,  in  his  edition  of  them  at  Oxford,  anno 
1644.  But  still  he  wanted  a  correct  copy  of  the  original  Greek;  the 
epistles  set  out  by  him,  though  exceedingly  more  sincere  than  any  we 
had  seen  before,  yet  consisting  only  of  the  old  Latin  translations  of 
them.  Now  this  was  in  great  measure  performed  by  the  learned  Isaac 
Vossius  in  the  edition  printed  by  him  at  Amsterdam,  anno  1646  :  in 
which,  from  the  Florentine  manuscript,  he  published  six  of  the  epistles 
of  this  holy  martyr  mentioned  by  Eusebius  in  their  ancient  and  pure 
Greek,  and  the  seventh  so  happily  amended  from  the  ancient  Latin 
version  that  there  was  but  little  doubt  to  be  made  of  the  integrity  of 
that  too.  But  to  remove  all  scruple  concerning  this  one  epistle,  Mr, 
Ruinart  has  also  published  that  from  a  Greek  uninterpolated  copy  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Martyrdom  of  this  holy  man  set  forth  by  him  at  Paris, 
anno  1689."  And  concerning  these  epistles  of  St.  Ignatius  enumerated 
by  Eusebius,  and  set  out  according  to  their  primitive  purity  by  those 
learned  men  whom  I  have  before  mentioned  and  from  them  translated 
into  the  following  collection,  there  are  two  things  to  be  considered  and 
proved  by  me  in  this  place:  first,  that  St.  Ignatius  did  write  such 


a  Acta  Martyr.  Sinccra  et  Select     Paris,  1 689. 

83 


84  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

epistles  as  those  I  have  here  translated;3  and,  secondly,  that  those 
epistles  we  here  have  are  the  very  epistles  which  he  wrote. 

3.  That  Ignatius  did  in  general  write  such  epistles  to  the  churches 
about  him,  however  it  has  been  denied  by  some,  is  yet  I  think  now 
universally  allowed,  even  by  those  who  are  the  greatest  opposers  ol 
these  epistles  which  we  affirm  to  be  his.1  That  he  wrote  to  those  par- 
ticular churches  to  which  the  epistles  here  subjoined  are  addressed,  we 
have  both  St.  Polycarp  and  Eusebius  to  assure  us.  For,  first,  St 
Polycarp/  in  the  close  of  his  epistle  (which  I  am  now  to  look  upon 
as  sufficiently  proved  to  be  his,)  speaking  to  the  Philippians  of  this 
holy  man,  tells  them  that  he  had  sent  them  all  such  epistles  of  his  as 
Ignatius  had  either  written  to  himself  or  to  his  church  at  Smyrna,  or 
as  had  hitherto  come  to  his  hands.  So  that  here  then  we  have  a  plain 
account  of  two  of  those  epistles  which  we  affirm  Ignatius  to  have  writ- 
ten :  one  to  St.  Polycarp  himself,  another  to  the  church  of  Smyrna,  of 
which  he  was  bishop. 

1.  But  Eusebius  will  enable  us  to  carry  this  testimony  yet  farther. 
Whilst  assuring  us  that  he  wrote  four  epistles  from  Smyrna,  namely,  to 
the  churches  of  Ephesus,  Magnesia,  Tralles,  and  Rome,  he  gives  us 
just  grounds  to  conclude  that  these  also  must  have  been  part  of  St. 
Polycarp's  collection  ;  and  have  been  some  of  those  others,  besides 
the  two  before  mentioned,  which  he  tells  us  he  sent  to  the  Philippians, 
unless  we  should  suppose  that  either  he  knew  not  of  Ignatius's  writ- 
ing, (though  every  day,  almost  every  hour,  with  him  at  the  time  he 
wrote  them,)  or  else  that,  knowing  of  it,  he  took  no  care  to  preserve 
the  copies  of  his  epistles,  which  yet  we  see  he  put  the  highest  value 
that  can  well  be  imagined  upon.  Seeing,  therefore,  we  cannot  with 
any  reason  suppose  either  that  St.  Polycarp  did  not  know  of  Ignatius's 
writing  to  these  churches,  nor  is  it  probable  that,  being  present  with 
him  at  the  writing  of  them,  and  acquainted  with  it,  he  should  not  have 
kept  any  copies  of  his  letters  to  them, — seeing,  lastly,  he  himself  tells 
that  he  had  copies  of  more  of  the  epistles  of  this  great  saint,  besides 
those  that  were  sent  to  Smyrna,  and  that  what  he  had  he  sent  to  the 
Philippians, — neither  can  we  reasonably  doubt  but  that  these  also  were 
in  his  hands,  and  sent  by  him  to  the  church  at  Philippi. 

5.  And  thus  have  we,  I  think,  upon  very  good  grounds,  concluded 
that  six  of  the  xvtn  rpistles  which  we  allinn  to  have  been  written  by 
St,  [gnatiuj  were  collected  by  St  Polycarp,  and  sent  together  with  his 
own  epistle  to  the  Philippians.  Let  me  add  yet  farther  that  neither 
can  we  reasonably  question  hut  that  the  seventh  too  was  at  that  time 
in  the  hands  of  St.  Polycarp  j  and  by  Consequence  that  what  we  now 
have  is  no  other  collection    than   what   he  made,  and  by  that  means 

•  Vi.l.  \Wm    Pi  I  lit    in  IfD  it.   ,nl  1..  .-t.>rrm.  »  \  'i.l.    Vindfe.    PbUMB.    in    P 

p.  20.  '  r..lyi-ii|)"s   Spilt   num.    xwi.   Ann-.t.  ColtL   m   loft    PuUrarp.    ['. 


ON  THE    EPISTLES    OF    ST.  IGNATIUS.  85 

helped  to  preserve  to  after  ages,  of  the  epistles  of  this  holy  martyr. 
Now  this  I  conclude  not  only  from  the  nearness  of  the  church  of 
Philadelphia,  to  which  it  was  written,  to  that  of  Smyrna,  in  which 
St.  Polycarp  presided,  and  from  the  great  respect  which  all  the  neigh- 
bouring churches  paid  to  him,  as  a  kind  of  universal  bishop  of  the 
whole  lesser  Asia,  but  from  the  conclusion  of  the  epistle  itself,  which 
tells  us  that  it  was  sent  by  Ignatius  to  the  Philadelphians,  not  only  from 
the  same  place  and  at  the  same  time  that  he  wrote  to  St.  Polycarp 
himself  and  to  his  church  of  Smyrna,  but  also  by  the  same  person 
that  carried  the  other  two,  and  that  person  St.  Polycarp's  own  deacon, 
whom  he  had  sent  with  Ignatius  to  Troas,  and  by  whom  Ignatius  wrote 
back  that  epistle. 

6.  St.  Polycarp  therefore  certainly  knew  of  Ignatius's  writing  to  the 
Philadelphians,  and  very  probably  sent  on  Burrhus,  his  deacon,  from 
Smyrna  to  Philadelphia  with  his  letter.  And  then,  I  think,  we  may 
very  reasonably  conclude  that  he  brought  back  with  him  the  copy  of 
it,  and  that  St.  Polycarp  had  that  epistle  too  in  his  hands  when  he 
wrote  to  the  Philippians. 

7.  Such  good  grounds  are  there  to  believe  that  the  collection  we 
now  have  of  St.  Ignatius's  epistles  was  no  other  than  what  St.  Poly- 
carp himself  made,  and  referred  to  in  that  passage  of  his  own  epistle 
to  the  Philippians  which  I  have  before  shown  to  be  truly  his,  and  not 
the  addition  of  any  later  hand.  And  the  same  is  the  account  which 
Eusebius a  himself  has  given  us  of  this  matter.  He  tells  us  that,  as 
Ignatius  was  on  his  way  to  Rome,  where  he  was  to  be  cast  to  the  wild 
beasts,  he  not  only  confirmed  the  churches  that  were  in  the  places 
through  which  he  passed,  by  his  exhortations,  but  wrote  to  the  chiefest 
of  those  others  that  were  near  such  epistles  as  these  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking ;  and  that,  as  he  goes  on,  in  this  following  order  :— 
First,  from  Smyrna,"  where  he  tarried  some  time  with  his  old  acquaint- 
ance and  fellow-disciple,  St.  Polycarp,  he  wrote  to  the  Ephesians, 
Magnesians,  Trallians,  and  Romans ;  and,  being  gone  farther  on  his 
way  to  Troas,  he  from  thence  wrote  to  the  Philadelphians  and  Smyr- 
naeans ;  18ms  tt  tC  tavtr^  TtpoqywfisvQ  rio^a'p*?,  and  a  particular  letter  to 
Polycarp,  the  bishop  of  Smyrna. 

8.  I  say  nothing  to  the  testimony  of  St.  Hierome c  as  to  this  matter, 
who,  as  he  exactly  agrees  with  Eusebius  in  all  this,  so  I  make  no 
question  but  that  he  transcribed  this  account  out  of  him.  It  is  suf- 
ficiently evident,  from  what  has  been  already  observed,  not  only  that 
St.  Ignatius  did  in  general  write  some  epistles,  (which  even  Mons. 
Daille"  himself  thinks  ought  not  to  be  any  question,)  but  that  he  wrote 
to  those  particular  churches  to  which  the  epistles  we  now  have  are 

•  Hist  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  cap.  36.         *Vid.   Chrys.   Orat  ad  Antiochen.        e  Libr.de 
Script.  Illustr.  cap.  xvi.         dApud  Pearson.  Vindic.  Ignat  Prolegom. 

H 


86  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

directed,  and  of  which  I  am  persuaded  there  ought  to  be  as  little 
doubt. 

9.  As  for  the  other  point  proposed,  and  by  which  the  foregoing  also 
will  be  yet  more  fully  confirmed,  namely,  that  those  epistles  we  now 
have  are  the  same  that  Ignatius  wrote,  two  things  there  are  that  seem 
to  determine  our  belief  of  it :  first,  that  there  is  nothing  in  these  epistles, 
as  we  now  have  them,  either  unworthy  of  the  spirit  of  Ignatius  or  the 
character  that  antiquity  has  given  us  of  them — nothing  disagreeing  to 
the  time  id  which  he  wrote,  or  that  should  seem  to  speak  them  to  have 
been  the  work  of  any  later  author.  Now  this,  as  it  hardly  ever  fails 
to  discover  such  pieces  as  are  falsely  imposed  upon  ancient  authors,  so 
there  not  appearing  any  tiling  of  this  kind  in  these  epistles  inclines  us 
the  more  readily  to  conclude  that  they  were  undoubtedly  written  by 
him  whose  they  are  said  to  be. 

10.  But  this  is  only  a  presumptive  argument  in  favour  of  these 
epistles,  which,  though  it  may  serve  to  dispose  us  the  more  readily  to 
receive  them  as  true  and  genuine,  yet  is  it  not  alone  sufficient  to  prove 
them  so  to  be.  The  other  argument  I  have  to  offer  is  positive  and 
convincing ;  namely,  that  we  find  these  epistles,  as  they  now  are, 
exactly  agreeing  both  with  the  descriptions  which  St.  Polycarp"  and 
Eusebius b  have  left  us  of  those  which  they  took  to  be  the  authentic 
epistles  of  this  holy  man,  and  with  the  numerous  quotations  which  the 
ancient  fathers0  have  made  out  of  them,  and  which  all  occur  in  the 
same  words,  in  our  present  copies  of  them,  that  they  are  cited  in  their 
writii 

1 1 .  This  has  been  so  fully  shown  by  our  most  learned  Bishop  Pear- 
son, and  indeed  was  so  manifest  of  itself  to  any  one  that  had  ever 
made  any  comparisons  of  this  kind,  that  Monsieur  Daille. J  himself 
could  not  deny  but  that  we  have  the  same  epistles  now  that  Eusebius, 
Athanasius,  St.  Jerome,  Theodoret,  and  Gelasius,  had  heretofore  ;  so 
that  the  only  question  then  to  be  considered  by  us  is,  whether  those 
epistles  which  Eusebius,  &C.,  had,  were  not  counterfeit,  but  the  true 
epistles  of  this  great  martyr. 

12.  And  here,  first,  it  is  evident  that  if  those  epistles  which  Euse- 
bius  first,  and    then    the   rest  of  those   ancient  writers  whom  I  before 

tioned,  took  for  the  genuine  i  pipits  of  St.  [gnatius,  were  none  of 

his,  the  true  epistles,  which  I  have  just  now  shown,  and  which  it  is 
Confessed  were  written  by  him,  must  before  that  tune  have  been  utterly 
lost,  or  otherwise  destroyed,  out  of  the  world:  it  being  very  impro- 
bable, that  had  the  true  epistles  been  still  remaining,  neither  so  inqui- 
sitive a  searcher  into  antiquity  as  EusebitM  Bhouk)  have  heard  of  them, 

■FamOn.   Vm>l.  [gnat  parti.  <.i|>.  a.  p. -i.         Ml»i.l.  Dap  I,  y.  8.         e  l'« 
ibid. ]  ('.'nip.  Teatim.  CoMeriide  Ignat  el  '    m .  Diaaait  [gnat 

Pearson.  \ Hid.  Ignat  PlOflDm.  p.  SO,  tt  VmJ.  paiti. 


ON   THE    EPISTLES    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS.  87 

nor  such  great  and  learned  men  as  those  that  followed  after  have  had 
any  suspicion  of  any  such  deceit.  But  now,  whether  this  be  probable 
— whether  it  can  be  supposed  that  such  epistles  as  these,  directed  to 
so  many  great  and  eminent  churches,  collected  by  so  venerable  a  man 
as  St.  Polycarp,  and  written  by  so  glorious  a  martyr  as  St.  Ignatius, 
should  within  so  little  time  have  been  utterly  lost  out  of  the  church,  I 
shall  leave  it  to  any  one,  who  considers  how  great  a  reverence  the 
primitive  Christians  had  for  every  thing  that  came  from  the  hands  of 
such  holy  and  excellent  men  and  such  glorious  martyrs  of  Christ,  to 
determine. 

13.  We  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Martyrdom  of  this  blessed  saint  with 
what  a  mighty  care  those  who  went  with  him  to  Rome,  and  were  the 
eye-witnesses  of  his  sufferings,  gathered  up  the  few  hard  bones  of  his 
body  which  the  lions  had  left,  and  how  they  brought  them  back  in  a 
kind  of  triumph  to  his  church  at  Antioch."  And  we  are  told  with 
what  pomp  they  were  many  ages  after  taken  up  from  the  place  where 
they  were  first  buried,  and  carried  by  the  command  of  the  younger 
Theodosius  within  the  city,  insomuch  that,  as  our  historians b  observe, 
there  was  a  festival  solemnity  established  upon  that  occasion,  and  an- 
nually observed  to  the  very  time  in  which  they  wyrote  in  remembrance 
of  it.  But  was  the  church  then  so  careful  of  a  few  dead  bones  of 
such  a  saint  as  this  ?  and  did  they  esteem  them  as  so  great  a  treasure, 
and  yet  had  they  so  little  regard  to  his  writings,  the  last  testimonies  of 
his  affection  to  the  churches  to  which  he  wrote,  as  to  suffer  them, 
within  two  hundred  years,  to  be  so  utterly  lost  as  not  to  be  once  known 
or  heard  of  by  the  greatest  and  most  curious  searchers  into  antiquity? 
This  is,  I  confess,  to  me  so  very  improbable  that  I  could  almost  as 
easily  believe  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  to  have  been  upon  a 
sudden  changed  into  some  other  epistles  than  what  St.  Peter  or  St. 
Paul  wrote,  as  that  such  epistles  as  these  could  be  so  totally  defaced 
as  some  pretend,  and  new  ones  set  out  in  the  room  of  them,  and  yet 
nobody  know  any  thing  of  the  doing  of  it.  But  such  impossibilities 
as  these  must  learned  men  be  content  to  please  themselves  and  to  im- 
pose upon  others  withal,  who  resolve  to  be  wiser  than  any  that  went 
before  them,  and  to  be  able  to  know  better  at  fifteen  hundred  years' 
distance  what  Ignatius  wrote,  than  those  did  who  lived  within  two 
centuries  of  him. 

14.  For,  to  press  our  argument  yet  more  closely,  since  it  is  allowed 
that  Ignatius  did  write  some  epistles,  and  I  think  sufficiently  evident 
(hat  St.  Polycarp  did  make  a  collection  of  them  and  send  them  to- 
gether with  his  own  to  the  Philippians,  I  presume  it  will  not  be  ques- 
tioned but  that  he  most  certainly  had  the  genuine  writings  of  that  holy 

a  See  his  Martyrdom,  num.  xii.  iEvagrius,  lib.  i.  cap.   16.     Nicephor.  lib.  xiv. 

cap.  44. 


88  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

martyr,  his  dear  friend  and  fellow-disciple.  Now  St.  Polycarp  suf- 
fered not,  according  to  the  earliest  computation  of  our  accurate  Bishop 
Pearson,4  till  the  year  of  our  Saviour  1  17,  and  others  suppose  it  to 
have  been  yet  later."  Hitherto  therefore  it  is  certain  that  the  true 
epistles  of  Ignatius  continued  in  the  church,  it  being  by  no  means 
probable  that  thev  should  have  been  changed  whilst  the  men  lived  to 
whom  Ignatius  wrote,  while  Polycarp  was  living  who  collected  them 
together,  and  whilst  those  of  the  church  of  Philippi  remained  to  whom 
he  sent  them* 

15.  To  St.  Polycarp  let  us  add  his  scholar  and  admirer  Iren. 
and,  as  himself  professes,  a  most  diligent  collector  of  whatever  fell 
from  that  holy  man.  That  he  had  the  epistles  of  St.  Ignatius,  Euse- 
l)insr  assures  us,  who  particularly  takes  notice  of  his  quoting  several 
passages  out  of  them,  and  mentions  one  of  his  quotations  out  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Romans d  which  is  still  extant  in  the  works  of  Irenaeus,1 
and  agrees  with  the  copy  published  by  Monsieur  Ruinart ;  only  that 
this  hath  <£pro?  xpia* or,  whereas  it  ought  to  be  read  aproj  etoZ,  as  appears 
from  the  old  interpretation  both  of  Irenaeus  and  of  Ignatius's  epistles ; 
which,  however,  is  no  greater  a  difference  than  that  of  Acts  xx.  28, 
where  some  copies  have  "Kwrtuygftw  0* ov,  others  Kvomvi  others  Xptaroi ;  not 
to  mention  any  other  places  of  the  New  Testament.  And  it  must  be 
allowed  that  the  other  passages  of  which  Eusebius'  speaks  were  also 
to  have  been  found  in  the  epistles  as  he  had  them  ;  because,  other- 

the  difference  between  what  the  one  quoted  and  the  other  read 
in  his  copy  of  those  epistles  would  presently  have  discovered  the  fraud, 
and  shown  that  his  epistles  were  not  the  same  with  those  which  Ire- 
na  us  mentioned. 

16.  And  this  puts  the  matter  yet  more  out  of  doubt;  for,  if  Euse- 
biufl  had  the  same  epistles  that  Irenaeus  had,  we  must  allow  one  of 
these  two  things  :  either  that  he  had  a  genuine  copy  of  them,  as  we 
affirm,  or  that  Irenaeus,  the  disciple  and  contemporary  of  St.  Polycarp, 
had  not,  which  would  be  very  unreasonable  to  suppose. 

17.  For,  (not  to  say  any  thing  as  to  this  matter,  that  Irenams  lived 
too  near  the  time  both  in  which  Ignatius  wrote  and  St.  Polycarp  col- 

d  his  epistles  to  have  hern  imposed  upon  in  this  particular,)  seeing 
he  himself  tells  us  how  careful  he  was  to  gather  up  whatever  came 
from  the  hand  of  that  holy  man,  and  that  he  not  only  had  the  epistles 

of  Ignatius,  as  appears  by  his  citing  of  them,  but  as  himself  declares  ~ 

had  also  the  epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians,  at  the  end  ofwblch 


•.  Chron.  ii.  eep.  1 1.  id  tft.  ha,  hum  II  el  in 

earn  Vaka.  167.     Petitoe,  II  below.  E    eh.  Hkt  Modm  Wb,  t. 

..  Hut  Bodes,  hi-,  in.  eep.  M.        ■  [raneme,  Kb  ».  ou>  M.        'Gouf>  I 

IOC  cit.  with  the  Kpistlc  to   the    K.'in.ms   an.!    Other   <|.i-ll<  -  iu:<    tr;in>hiU'i]. 

a.l  Plorin.  HQet  Bcclee.  lib.  f.  ohjk.10. 


ON   THE    EPISTLES    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS.  89 

the  epistles  of  Ignatius  were  subjoined,  what  can  we  conclude  but  that 
the  copy  he  had  of  both  was  taken  from  that  of  his  master  Polycarp, 
which  being  to  be  sure  authentic,  it  must  remain  that  Irenaeus's  was 
so  too  ? 

18.  Were  it  needful  to  add  any  thing  yet  farther,  to  show  that  Euse- 
bius,  who  is  confessed  to  have  had  the  same  copy  of  St.  Ignatius  that 
we  have  now,  had  no  other  than  that  of  St.  Polycarp  so  often  men- 
tioned, I  might  to  the  testimony  of  Irenaeus,  before  alleged,  add  that 
of  Origen,0  who  began  to  live  some  time  before  the  other  died  ;  for 
this  father  has  not  only  spoken  of  these  epistles,  but  has  left  us  two 
quotations  out  of  them ;  and  both  to  be  found  in  our  copies,  which  we 
affirm  to  be  true  and  authentic.  Now  from  him  to  Eusebius  was  not 
above  half  a  century, — too  little  a  while  for  so  great  an  alteration  to 
have  been  made  in  writings  spread  up  and  down  into  so  many  hands, 
read  by  all  the  learned  and  pious  men  of  those  days,  and  upon  all 
these  accounts  utterly  incapable  of  such  a  change  as  is,  without  the 
authority  of  one  single  writer,  only  upon  I  know  not  what  conjectures, 
supposed  to  have  been  made  in  them. 

19.  But  I  enlarge  myself  too  much  in  so  plain  a  manner,  and  which 
I  should  hardly  have  thought  worth  the  examining  thus  distinctly,  had 
it  not  engaged  the  pens  of  so  many  learned  men  of  the  reformed  reli- 
gion that  it  might  have  seemed  too  great  an  omission  in  such  a  dis- 
course as  this  not  to  have  given  some  account  of  it.  As  for  what  we 
find  a  late  learned  writer6  advancing  in  opposition  to  the  authority  of 
these  epistles,  that  our  copies,  though  exceedingly  more  perfect  than 
any  that  were  ever  extant  before  those  great  men  Bishop  Usher  and 
Isaac  Vossius  set  out, — the  one  the  old  Latin  versions,  the  other  the 
original  Greek,  from  the  manuscript  which  he  found  of  it  in  the  Flo- 
rentine library, — yet  there  may  be  reason  still  to  suspect  that  they  are 
not  so  free  from  all  corruptions  as  were  to  be  wished  :  I  reply  that,  if 
he  means  that  the  same  has  happened  to  these  epistles  as  has  done  to 
all  other  ancient  writings,  that  letters  or  words  have  been  mistaken, 
and  perhaps  even  the  pieces  of  some  sentences  corrupted,  either  by 
the  carelessness  or  ignorance  of  the  transcribers, — I  see  no  reason  why 
we  should  deny  that  to  have  befallen  these  epistles  which  has  been  the 
misfortune  of  all  other  pieces  of  the  like  antiquity.  It  has  been  often 
declared,0  therefore,  that  neither  do  we  contend  about  this,  nor  can  any 
one  who  reads  the  best  copies  we  have  of  them,  with  any  care  or  judg- 
ment, make  any  doubt  of  it.  But  as  for  any  larger  interpolations, 
such  as  were  those  of  the  copies  before  extant,  for  any  changes  or 
mistakes  that  may  call  in  question  either  the  credit  or  authority  of  these 
epistles  as  we  now  have  them,  we  utterly  deny  that  there  are  any  such 

a  Orig.  Homil.  vi.  in  Luc.  et  in  Cantic.  Proleg.  *  Ernst.  Tentzcl.  Exercit.  select,  iii. 
num.  ix.  xii.  p.  67.  c  Vossii  Annot.  passim.     Pearson.  Vind.  Ignat.   Proleg.  p.  20. 

12  h2 


90  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

in  these  last  editions  of  them  ; a  nor  has  that  learned  man  offered  anv 
thing  to  induce  us  to  believe  that  there  are. 

20.  And  here  I  should  have  concluded  these  reflections,  but  that 
there  is  yet  one  flung  more  to  1m-  taken  notice  of  which  must  by  no 

us  be  passed  bj  ;  namely,  that  our  most  learned  Archbishop  Usher1 
it",  though  he  agrees  with  us  us  to  the  authority  of  the  other  six 

epistles  here  translated,  yet  doubts  whether  the  Seventh,  written  to  St. 

Polycarp,  be  genuine  or  no.  Nor  do,  I  ;  Vossius'  himself  deny 
but  that  there  are  some  things  in  it  that  may  seem  to  render  it  su^pi- 
eious;  though  more  to  prove  it  to  be  authentic.  For  first,  St  Poly- 
carp' express!}  assures  us  that  Ignatius  had  written  to  him;  so  both 
bius'  and  St.  Hierome/  teach  us  to  understand  his  expression'; 
they  mention  the  epistle  of  St.  Polycarp,  as  distinct  from  that  to  the 
church  of  Smyrna.  And,  secondly,  the  ancient  fathers*  quote  it  as 
[gnatius's,  no  less  than  the  rest.  From  both  which  it  seems  to  be 
very  plain  that  this  also  has  the  same  evidence  of  being  written  by 
Ignatius  that  any  of  the  rest  have  ;  and,  therefore,  that  he  who  allows 
it  as  sufficient  for  the  one  ought  not  to  refuse  it  for  the  other. 

21.  As  for  that  which  seems  to  be  the  most  difficult  to  account  for 
in  it,  namely,  his  writing  in  the  plural  number,  and  giving  several  in- 
structions about  the  behaviour  of  the  common  people,  particularly 
that,  «  to  adhere  to  the  bishop,"  (Chap.  V.  and  VI.,)  it  is  rightly  ob- 

1  by  Vossius,  in  his  annotations  on  those  chapters,  that  Ignatius 
in  that  place  speaks  not  to  St.  Polycarp,  but,  by  a  usual  change  of 
person,  intimates  what  he  would  have  Polycarp  say  to  his  church  ;  and 
whosoever  shall  consider  in  what  manner  he  brings  in  what  he  there 
delivers,  "  Say  to  my  sisters,"  &c. — and  again,  "  Exhort  my  brethren," 
&c. — will  presently  see  how  those  instructions  are  to  be  understood. 

22.  And  now  it  remains  only  that  I  give  some  short  account  of  the 
following  translation  of  these  episdes.  The  copies  from  which  I  did 
it  were  those  of  Isaac  Vossius  and  Bishop  Usher,  comparing  both,  as 
I  had  occasion,  with  the  late  edition  of  Cotelerius.  In  the  salutation 
of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  I  have  departed  from  all  of  them,  and 
followed  the  correction  of  that  judicious  man  whose  name  I  mention 
in  the  margin  of  it.      I  thought  myself  the  more  at  liberty  to  do  this, 

that   this  epistle  was   not  found  in  the  Florentine  manuscript, 
but  made  up,  in  some   measure,  from  the  Latin  versions,  by  the  con- 
jectures of  learned  men;  and  however  it  has  since  been  published, 
togethei  with  the  Acts  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St  Ignatius,  in  its  original 
k,ye1  [have  rather  chosen  to  note  the  differ*  ween  thai 

the  objection!  <>t"  Tentaaliat  fully  anawered  by  tin-  learned  Dr.  Gtaabe, Sptcileg. 

■ae.  ii.  p»S97|  6Vft         •'  I  >i--crt.  ill-  Ii.Mi.it.  c  i|>.  ni.  \ !ni.»t.  iii  [gnat  Bpiet  p.  S64, 

*  Polycarp  Epiet  nam.  *iii.  H    I    I  m.  c  88.        'Hieronym.de 

Ulustr.  in  [gntt        i  \  i«l.  [aaac  Voaa>  Annot  loft  aapr.  pit 


ON    THE    EPISTLES    OF    ST.  IGNATIUS.  91 

and  the  copy  I  before  followed,  than  to  give  a  preference  to  either. 
And  the  reader  will  have  this  advantage  by  it,  that  he  will  here  see 
both ;  and  may  make  use  of  his  own  judgment,  if  at  any  time  the 
copies  disagree,  to  inform  him  which  he  thinks  to  be  the  most  correct. 
For  the  rest,  I  have  kept  as  strictly  to  the  text  of  Vossius  as  the  sense 
would  permit  me  to  do  ;  only,  where  a  place  was  manifestly  imperfect, 
I  have  sometimes  taken  the  liberty  to  express  my  own  conjectures, 
though  differing  from  those  of  others,  with  whom,  nevertheless,  I  pre- 
tend not  to  compare  myself.  But  then  I  seldom  do  this,  without  taking 
notice  of  it,  and  telling  my  reader  to  whom  he  may  recur  for  somewhat 
a  different  opinion.  If,  after  all,  there  appear  some  faults  in  my  trans- 
lation, (though  I  may  modestly  say,  I  have  taken  what  care  my  little 
acquaintance  with  these  matters  would  enable  me  to  do,  to  avoid  them,) 
I  desire  it  maybe  considered  that  I  had  a  difficult  author  to  deal  with ; 
and  I  shall  be  very  ready  thankfully  to  amend  any  error  that  any  more 
discerning  person  shall  think  fit  to  advertise  me  of,  if  ever  this  collec- 
tion should  be  thought  worthy  to  come  to  another  edition. 


'i' in: 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

THE  EPHE3IANS, 


■tins,  who  is  also  called  Thcophorus,  to  the  churchivhich  is  at  Ep) 
in  Asia,  mott  deservedly  happy,  being  blessed  through  a  the  greatness  and 
fulness  of  Cod  b  the  Father,  and  predestinated  before  the  world  began^ 
that  it  should  he  always  unto  an  enduring  and  unchangeable  glory,  being 
united  and  chosen  through0  his  true  passion,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
Father  and  Jesus  Christ  our  God;  all  happiness,*  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
/us  un</tf  led  grace. 

I.  I  HAYK  heard  of'  your  name,  much-beloved  in  God,  which  ye 
have  very  /justly  attained  by  a  habit*  of  righteousness,  according  to 
the  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  how  that, 
being  followers  h  of  God,  and  stirring  up  yourselves  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,  ye  have  perfectly  accomplished  the  work  that  was  connatural 
unto  you.  For,  hearing  that  I  came  bound  from  Syria,  for  the  common 
name  and  hope,1  trusting  through  your  prayers  to  fight  with  beasts  at 
Rome,  that  so,  by  suffering,"  I  may  become  indeed  the  disciple  of  him 
"who  gave  himself  to  God  an  offering  and  sacrifice  for  us"'  [ye 
hastened  to  see  mem] ;  I  received,  therefore,  in  the  name  of  God  your 
whole  multitude  in  Onesimus,  who  by  inexpressible  love  is  ours,  but 
according  to  the  flesh  is  your  bishop  ;  whom  I  beseech  you,  by  Jesus 
Christ,  to  love,  and  that  you  would  all  strive  to  be  like  unto  him. 
And  blessed  be  God  who  has  granted  unto  you,  who  are  so  worthy  of 
him,  to  enjoy"  such  an  excellent  bishop. 

II.  For  what  concerns  my  fellow-servant  Burrhus,  snd  your  most 
blessed  deacon  in  things'  pertaining  to  God,  I  entreat  you  that  he  may 
tarry  longer  l>^h  foryonrs  and  your  bishop's  honour.  And  Crocus 
also,  worthy  both  our  (iod  and  you,  whom  I  have  received  as  the 
pattern  of  vour  love,  has  [q  all  things   refreshed  me,  as  the  Father  of 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  also  refresh  him  ;  together  with  Onesimus, 

and  Burrhus,  anil    EuplllS,  and    Pronto,  in:'   whom  I  have,  as   to  your 

charity,  seen  all  of  yon.     And  may  I  always  have  joy'  <>f  you,  if  I 

•  In.         >  See  Epb.  in.  19.         •J*         -  //•  iltt,  Joy.        ■  /;.,.•■-•/.— Vid 
Interpol,       f  Vi.l.  Colder,  in  !<•<•.   Cornp.  Gel  W,  &        ■  Peenoa.  Yinii.  (gnat  par.  '2. 

,-.!],.    11.  »  /     :■  •  Vi/.nf  Chrkt  '  Mir!yr,ln„t.  I  K|>h.  v.  *J. 

tin-  old  Let  ed  of  Bi-ti"i>  [Jeher.         n  P  e  Blessed  m  oil  '  T  /•'..■ 

I  Sec  PhOem.  10,     Wudom  xxx.2. 
M 


TO    THE    EPHESIANS.  93 

shall  be  worthy  of  it.  It  is,  therefore,  fitting  that  you  should  by  all 
means  *  glorify  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  glorified  you — that  by  a  uniform 
obedience"  "  ye  maybe  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind, 
and  in  the  same  judgment,  and  may  all  speak  the  same  things  con- 
cerning every  thing ;" c  and  that,  being  subject  to  your d  bishop  and 
the  presbytery,  ye  may  be  wholly  and  thoroughly  sanctified. 

III.  These  things  I  prescribe  to  you,6  not  as  if  I  were  somebody 
extraordinary,  (for  though  I  am  bound  for/  his  name,  I  am  not  yet 
perfect  in  Christ  Jesus,)  butff  now  I  begin  to  learn,  and  I  speak  to  you 
as  fellow-disciples  together  with  me.  For  I  ought  to  have  been  stirred 
up  by  you,  in  faith,  in  admonition,  in  patience,  in  long-suffering.  But, 
forasmuch  as  charity  suffers  me  not  to  be  silent  towards"  you,  I  have 
first  taken  upon  me  to  exhort  you  that  ye  would  all  run  together,  ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  God.  For  even  Jesus  Christ,  our  inseparable 
life,  is  sent  by  the  will4  of  the  Father ;  as  the  bishops,  appointed  unto 
the  utmost  bounds  of  the  earth,  are  by  the  will  of  Jesus  Christ. 

IV.  Wherefore "  it  will  become  you  to  run  together  according  to  the 
will  of  your  bishop,  as  also  ye  do.  For  your  famous1  presbytery 
(worthy  of  God)  is  fitted  as  exactly  to  the  bishop  as  the  strings  are  to 
the  harp.  Therefore,  in  your  concord  and  agreeing  charity,  Jesus 
Christ  is  sung,  and  every  single  person  among  you  makes  up  the 
chorus ;  that  so,  being  all  consonant  in  love,"1  and  taking  up  the  song 
of  God,  ye  may  in  a  perfect  unity,  with  one  voice,  sing  to  the  Father 
by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  end  that  he  may  both  hear  you,  and  perceive 
by  your  works  that  ye  are  indeed  the  members  of  his  Son  :  wherefore 
it  is  profitable  for  you  to  live  in  an  unblamable  unity,  that  so  ye  may 
always  have"  a  fellowship  with  God. 

V.  For  if  I  in  this  little  time  have  had  such  a  familiarity  with  your 
bishop,  (I  mean  not  a  carnal,  but  spiritual  acquaintance  with  him,) 
how  much  more  must  I  think  you  happy,  who  are  so  joined  to  him  as 
the  church  is  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Father,  that  so 
all  things  may  agree  in  the  same  unity!  Let  no  man  deceive  himself; 
if  a  man  be  not  within  the  altar,  he  is  deprived  of  the  bread  of  God. 
For,  if  the  prayer  of  one  or  two  °  be  of  such  force  as  we  are  told,  how 
much  more  powerful  shall  that  of  the  bishop  and  the  whole  church  be! 
He  therefore  that  does  not  come  together  into  the  same  place  with  it  is 
proud,  and  has*  already  condemned8  himself.  For  it  is  written, 
"  God  resisteth  the  proud." r  Let  us  take  heed,  therefore,  that  we  do 
not  set  ourselves  against  the  bishop,  that  we  may  be  subject  to  God. 

VI.  The 8  more  any  one  sees  his  bishop  silent  the  more  let  him 


a  In  all  manner  ofioays.         b  In  one.         c  1  Cor.  i.  10.         d  The.         *  Command  you. 
fin.  *  For.  h  Concerning.  *  Mind,    counsel,  opinion,    &c.  *  Whence. 

1  Worthy  to  be  named.  m  Concord.  n  Partake  of .         °  Matt,  xviii.  19.         *  Is  al- 

ready proud  and  has,  &c.  i  Judged  or  separated.         r  James   iv.  6.         '  And  the. 


94  ST.  IGNATIUS's   EPISTLE 

revere  him.  For  whomsoever  the  master  of  the  house  sends  to  be 
over  his  own  household,  we  ought  in  like  manner  to  receive  him  as 
we  would  do  him  that  sent  him.  It  is,  therefore,  evident  that  we 
ought  to  look  upon  the  bishop  even  as  we  would  do  upon  the  Lord 
himself.  And  indeed  Onesimiu  himself  does  greatly  commend  your 
good  order  in  God — that  you  all  live  according  to  the  truth,  and  that 
no  heresy  dwells  among  you.  For  neither  do  ye  hearken  to  any  one 
more  than  to  Jesus  Christ,  speaking  to  you  in  truth. 

VII.  For  some  there  are  who  carry"  about  the  name  of  Christ  in 
deceitfulness,b  but  do  things  unworthy  of  God  ;  whom  ye  must  flee, 
as  ye  would  do  so  many  wild  beasts ;  for  they  are  ravening  dogs,  who 
bite  secretly — against  whom  ye  must  guard  yourselves,  as  men  hardly 
to  be  cured.  There  is  one  physician,  both  fleshly  and  spiritual,  made 
and  not  made  ;  God  incarnate;  true  life  in  death  ;  both  of  Mary  and 
of  God  ;  first  passible,  then  impassible;  even  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

VIII.  Wherefore  let  no  man  deceive  you  ;  as  indeed  neither  are  ve 
deceived,  being  wholly  the  servants  of  God.  For  inasmuch  as  there 
is  no  contention  nor  strife  among  you,  to  *  trouble  you,  ye  must  needs 
live'  according  to  God's  will.  My  soul  be  for  yours/  and  I  myself 
the  expiatory  offering  for  your  church  of  Ephesus,  so  famous  through- 
out the  world.*  They  that  are  of  the  flesh  cannot  do  the  works  of  the 
Spirit  ;  neither  they  that  are  of  the  Spirit,  the  works  of  the  flesh.  As 
he  that  has  faith  cannot  be  an  infidel ;  nor  he  that  is  an  infidel,  have 
faith.1  But  even  those  things  which  ye  do  according  to  the  flesh  are 
Spiritual  ;  forasmuch  as  ye  do  all  things  in  Jesus  Christ. 

IX.  Nevertheless  I  have  heard  '  of  some  who  have  passed  by  you* 
having  perverse  doctrine  ;  whom  ye  did  not  suffer  to  sow  among'  you, 
but  stopped  your  ears,  that  ye  might  not  receive  those  things  that  were 
sown  by  them  ;  as  being  the  stones  of  the  temple  of  the  Father,  pre- 
pared for  his  m  building,"  and  drawn  up  on  high  by  the  cross  of  Christ 
as  by  an  engine,0  using  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  rope  :  your  faith  being 
your  support,  and  your  charity  the  way  that  leads  unto  God.  Ye  are, 
therefore,  with  all  your  companions  in  the  same  journey,  full  of  God  : 
bis  spiritual  temples/  full  of  Christ,  full  of  holiness  ;  adorned  in  all 
things  with  the  commands  of  Christ,  in  whom  also  I  rejoiee  that  I  have 
1  thought  worthy  by  this  present  epistle  to  converse,"  and  joy  to- 
getlu  r  with  you,  that  With  respeet  to  the  other  life,  ye  love  nothing  but 
God  only. 

X.  PriJ  also  without    Ceasing  lor  Other  men;  for  there  is  hope  of 

*  Atmttmn  thtnibetvet  to  carry.         b  l<\  •  'Avoid.        d  Which  can. 

'  Wtlktmi  doubt  ft  Utt,  -f  VlA  Vims.  Am:. .I.  m  Inc.       IV  irson.  Yin  L  •  ii.    D. 

'  '  .    v  --           '  kJhntiilm  i  <t\  h  tht  tkingn  of  infidelity, 

the  ihivi:x  of  faith,  l  Knot             */'                          •                     I  lonp.  Bph.iL 

SQ,S1,SS.     i  Pat  ■  6.        "ThtboldiDg  ol  I     !  »'.    Father.        •Bqi  i 

the  cros~.  \'       !'•  port. ii.  cap  1'-'.        '  '    '  .             I  .                   i 


TO   THE    EPHESIANS.  95 

repentance  in  them,  that  they  may  attain  unto  God.  Let  them,  there- 
fore, at  least  be  instructed  by  your  works,  if  they  will  be  no  other 
way.  Be  ye  mild  at  their  anger,  humble  at  their  boasting  ;  to  their, 
blasphemies,  return  your  prayers  ;  to  their  error,  your  firmness  °  in  the 
faith  :  when  they  are  cruel,  be  ye  gentle  ;  not  endeavouring  to  imitate 
their  ways :  (let  us  be  their  brethren  in  all  kindness  and  moderation, 
but  let  us  be  followers  of  the  Lord  :  for  who  was  ever  more  b  unjustly 
used  ?  more  destitute  ?  more  despised  ?)  that  so  no  herb  of  the  devil 
may  be  found  in  you :  but  ye  may  remain  in  all  holiness  and  sobriety 
both  of  body  and  spirit,  in  Christ  Jesus.c 

XL  The  last  times  are  come  d  upon  us ;  let  us,  therefore,  be  very 
reverent,  and  fear  the  long-suffering  of  God,  that  it  be  not  to  us  unto 
condemnation.  For  let  us  either  fear  the  wrath  that  is  to  come,  or  let 
us  love  the  grace  that  we  at  present  enjoy ; e  that  by  the  one  or  the 
other  of  these  we  may  be  found f  in  Christ  Jesus,  unto  true  life.  Be- 
sides him,e  let  nothing  be  worthy  of  you  ;  *  for  *  whom  also  I  bear  about 
these  bonds,  those  spiritual  jewels,  in  which  I  would  to  God  that  I 
might  arise  through  your  prayers  :  of  which  I  entreat  you  to  make  me 
always  partaker,  that  I  may  be  found  in  the  lot  of  the  Christians  of 
Ephesus,  who  have  always  agreed  with"  the  apostles,  through1  the 
power  of  Jesus  Christ. 

XII.  I  know  both  who  I  am,  and  to  whom  I  write :  I,  a  person 
condemned  ;  ye,  such  as  have  obtained  mercy  ;  I,  exposed  to  danger  ; 
ye,  confirmed  against  danger.  Ye  are  the  passage  of  those  that  are 
killed  for  God :  the  companions  of  Paul  in  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel 
— the  holy,  the  martyr,™  the  deservedly  most  happy  Paul ;  at  whose 
feet  may  I  be  found,  when  I  shall  have  attained  unto  God  ;  who n 
throughout  all  his  epistle  makes  mention  of  you  in  Christ  Jesus. 

XIII.  Let  it  be  your  care,  therefore,  to  come  more  fully  together,  to 
the  praise  and  glory  of  God.  For  when  ye  meet  fully  together  in  the 
same  place,  the  powers  of  the  devil  are  destroyed,  and  his  mischief0  is 
dissolved  by  the  unity p  of  your  faith.  And  indeed  nothing  is  better 
than  peace  ;  by  which  all  war,  both  spiritual  and  earthly,'  is  abolished. 

XIV.  Of  all  which  nothing  is  hid  from  you,  if  ye  have  perfect  faith 
and  charity  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  are  the  beginning  and  end  of  life  : 
for  the  beginning  is  faith,  the  end  charity-.  And  these  two,  joined  r  to- 
gether, are  of  God ;  but  all  other  things  which  concern  a  holy  life  are 
the  consequences  of  these.  No  man  professing  a  true  faith  sinneth  ; 
neither  does  he  who  has  charity  hate  any.     The  tree  is  made  manifest 

•  Be  ye  firm.  b  Who  has  been  more,  &c.  e  In  Jesus  Christ,  both  bodily  and  spi- 

ritually.    1  Cor.  vii.  34.  d  Remain,  or,  For  it  remains.  'Is  present.  f  One  of 

the  two,  only  that  we  may  be  found,  &c.  e  Without  him.  h  Become  you.  *  In. 

1  rfxsented  to.  l  In.         m  Witnessed  of.  nVid.  Coteler.  in  loo     Pears.  Vind.  Ign, 

par.  2,  cap.  10.         °  Destruction.  v  Concord.         «  Of  things  in  heaven,  and  of  things 

on  earth.  r  Being  in  unity. 


96  ST.  IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE 

by  its  fruit;0  so  they  who  profess  themselves  to  be  Christians  arc- 
known  ■  by  what  they  do  ;  for  Christianity  is  not  the  work  of  an  out- 
ward profession;  but  shows  itself  in  the  power  of  faith,  if  a  man  be 
found  faithful  unto  the  end. 

XV.  It  is  better  for  a  man  to  hold  his  peace,  and  be — than  to  say 
a  Christian,  and  not  to  be.c     It  is  good  to  teach,  if  what  he  says 

he  does*  likewise.  There  is,  therefore,  one  Master,  who  spake,  and 
i;  was  done;  and  even  those  things  which  he  did  without  speaking  an 
worthy  of  the  Father.  He  that  possesses  the  word  of  Jesus  is  truly 
able  to  hear  his  very  silence,  that  he  may  be  perfect ;  and  ■  both  do 
according  to  what  he  speaks,  and  be  known  by  those  things  of  whir}. 
silent.  There  is  nothing  hid  from  God,  but  even  our  secrets  are 
nigh  unto  him.  Let  us,  therefore,  do  all  things  as  becomes  those  who 
have  God'  dwelling  in  them,  that  we  may  be  His  temples,  and  lie 
may  be  our  God:  as  also  He  is  ;  and  will  manifest  himself  before  our 
faces,  by  those  things  for*  which  we  justly  love  him. 

XVI.  Be  not  deceived,  my  brethren  ;  those  that  corrupt  families'1  by 
adultery  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  If  therefore  they  who 
do  this  according  to  the  flesh  have  suffered  death,*  how  much  more 
shall  he  die,  who  by  his  wicked  doctrine  corrupts  the  faith  of  God,  for 
which  Christ  was  crucified?  He  that  is  thus  defiled*  shall  depart  into 
unquenchable  fire,  and  so  shall  he  that  hearkens  to  him.' 

XVII.  P'or  this  cause  did  the  Lord  suffer  the  ointment  to  be  poured 
on  his  head,"1  that  he  might  breathe  the  breath  of  immortality  into  his 
church.  Be  not  ye,  therefore,  anointed  with  the  evil  savour  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  prince  of  this  world  ;  let  him  not  take  you  captive  from 
the  life  that  is  set  before  you.  And  why  are  not  we  all  wise  ;  seeing 
we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  is  Jesus  Christ? 
Why  do  we  suffer  ourselves  foolishly  to  perish,"  not  considering0  the 
gift  which  the  Lord  has  truly  sent  to  us  ? 

Will.   Let  my  life  be  sacrificed'  for  the   doctrine  of  the  CTOSS, 

which  is  indeed  a  scandal  to  the  unbelievers,  but  to  us  is  salvation  an'! 

life  eternal.     *« Where  is  the  wise  man?     Where  is  the  disputes?" 

Where  is  the  boasting  of  them  that  are   called  wise?     For  our  God 

Jesus  Christ  was,  according  to  the  dispensation  of  God,  conceived r  in 

the  womb  of  Mary,  of  the  seed    of  David,  by1  the    Holy  Ghost;  he 

bora  and  baptized!  thai  through  bis  passion,  he  might  purify 

the  washing  away  of  aW 

XIX.   Now  the  virginity  of  Marv,  and    he   who  was   born  of  her, 

0  Matt.  ™.  3M.  »  Shall  b»  *rrn,  or  vvvk  manifttt.  c  Sprnlam:,  v«t  tf  If  *  I' 

.  (foes.  '  Thai  hr  may.  J  Htm.  r  (  M  of.  h  The  cvrrvptrrs  oj 

1  C,,r.  M.  '.i,   10.  '1  OW«  x-  M-  '  >'"''  <i  one  hcromin^  dtftlfil. 

V ■.  ,!.    \I;\.  v    rxwn.'J.  ".//■<    MM  /6oH$U§  r!> 

\  >-,   Dr.  Smith's  note  in  loc     I  Car.  i.  IS,  SS,  M.        ilCar.LSO. 

'  /'»//  !>y.  '  Who  • 


TO    THE    EPHESIANS.  97 

were  kept  in  secret  from  the  prince  of  this  world ;  as  was  also  the 
death  of  our  Lord  :  three  of  the  mysteries  the  most  spoken  of"  through- 
out the  world,  yet  done  in  secret  *  by  God.  How  then  was  our  Saviour 
manifested  to  the  world  ?  A  star  shone  in  heaven  beyond  all  the  other 
stars,  and  its  light  was  inexpressible,  and  its  novelty  struck  terror  into 
men's  minds.  All  the  rest  of  the  stars,  together  with  the  sun  and 
moon,  were  the  chorus  to  this  star;  but  that  sent  out  its  light  exceed- 
ingly above  them  all.  And  men  began  to  be  troubled c  to  think  whence 
this  new  star d  came,  so  unlike  to  all  the  others/  Hence  all  the  power 
of  magic  became  dissolved,  and  every  bond  of  wickedness  was  de- 
stroyed ;'  men's  ignorance  was  taken  away,  and  the  old  kingdom 
abolished ;  God  himself  appearing5  in  the  form  of  a  man,  for  the  re- 
newal of  eternal  life.  From  thence  began  what  God  had  prepared  ; 
from  thenceforth  things  were  disturbed  ;  forasmuch  as  he  designed  to 
abolish  death. 

XX.  But  if  Jesus  Christ  shall  give  me  grace  through  your  prayers, 
and  it  be  his  will,  I  purpose,  in  a  second  epistle,  which  I  will  suddenly 
write  unto  you,  to  manifest  to  you  more  fully  the  dispensation,  of  which 
I  have  now  begun  to  speak,  unto  the  new  man,  which  is  Jesus  Christ ; 
both  in  his  faith  and  charity,  in  his  suffering  and  in  his  resurrection  ; 
especially  if  the  Lord  shall  make  known n  unto  me,  that  ye  all  by  name 
come  together  in  common  in  one  faith,  and  in  one  Jesus  Christ  (whc 
was  of  the  race  of  David  according  to  the  flesh)  the  Son  of  man,  and 
Son  of  God  ;  obeying1  your  bishop  and  the  presbytery  with  an  entire 
affection  ;  *  breaking  one  and  the  same  bread,  which  is  the  medicine 
of  immortality,  our  antidote  that  we  should  not  die,  but  live  for  ever 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

XXI.  My  soul  be  for  yours,  and  theirs  whom  ye  have  sent,  to  the 
glory  of  God,  even  unto  Smyrna,  from  whence  also  I  write  to  you  ; 
giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  loving  Polycarp  even  as  I  do  you. 
Remember  me,  as  Jesus  Christ  does  remember  you.  Pray  for  the 
church  which  is  in  Syria,  from  whence  I  am  carried  bound  to  Rome  ; 
being  the  least  of  all  the  faithful  which  are  there,  as  I  have  been 
thought  worthy  to  be  found  to  the  glory  of  God.  Fare  ye  well  in  God 
the  Father,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  our  common  hope.     Amen. 

To  the  Ephesians. 

•  Mysteries  of  noise.  b  Silence  or  quietness.     See  Rom.  xvi.  25.  ■  There  was  a 

disorder.  d  Novelty.  'Them.  f  Disappeared.  *  Being  made  manifest. 

k  Reveal.  '  That  they  may  obey.         *  Mind. 


13 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

I  UK  MAGNESIAN8- 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Theophorus,  to  the  blessed  [church  a]  by » 
the  grace  of  God  the  Father  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour ;  in  whom  I 
fdhde  the  church  ivhich  is  at  Magnesia,  near  the  Mceander,  and  wish  it 
ill  joy,  in  God  the  Father,  and  in  Jesus  Christ. 

I.  When  I  heard  of  your  well-ordered  love  and  charity  in c  God, 
being  full  of  joy,  I  desired  much  to  speak  unto  you  in  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ.  For  having  been  thought  worthy  to  obtain  a  most  ex- 
cellent name,*  in  the  bonds  which  I  carry  about,'  I  salute f  the 
churches  ;  wishing  in  them  a  union  both  of  the  body  and  spirit  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  eternal  life  :  as  also  of  faith  and  charity,  to  which 
nothing  is  preferred  ;  but  especially  of  Jesus  and  the  Father;  in  whom, 
"if  we  undergo  e  all  the  injuries  of  the  prince  of  this  present  world  and 
escape,  we  shall  enjoy  God. 

II.  Seeing  then  I  have  been  judged  worthy  to  see  you  by  Damas, 
your  most  excellent'1  bishop  ;  and  by  your  very  worthy  presbyter? 
Bassus  and  Apollonius ;  and  by  my  fellow-servant  Sotio,  the  deacon, 
in  whom  I  rejoice,'  forasmuch  as  he  is  subject  unto  his  bishop  as  to  the 
grace  of  God,  and  to  the  presbytery  as  to  the  law  of  Jesus  Christ ;  I 
determined  to  write  unto  you.k 

III.  Wherefore  it  will  become  you  also  not'  to  use  your  bishop  too 
familiarly  upon  the  account  of  his  youth,  but  to  yield  all  reverence  to 
him  according  to  the  power  of  God  (he  Father — as  also  I  perceive  that 
vour  holy  presbyters  do — not  considering  his  age,  which  indeed  to  ap- 
pearance is  young,"  but  as  becomes  those  who  are  prudent  in  God, 
submitting  to  him,  or  rather  not  to  him,  but  to  the  Father  ^(  our  Lord 

JeSUS    Christ,  the    bishop   of  US    all.      It  will    therefore    behove"   you, 

'ith  .ill  sincerity,'  to  obey  youi  bishop  in  honour  of  Him  whose  plea- 
sure it  is r  that  ye  should  do  so,  because  he  thai  does  not  do  so  deceive* 

•  Yiil.  Intrrpr.  !.;>:.  Kj.ist.  Intnp.il.  »  In.  •  Jcwrditlg  to. 

a  mmm  carrying  a  greol  rfeei  of  dnuuty  m  \L        •  See  Bishop  \'<  ■     n.  1  ind.  Ign.  \^r- 

l'J,  ji.  I  -Hi.  /  Si,il\  mmnu  tul.  'I  )g,  *  Worthy 

*  Whom  may  /  nyey.        k  Apod  Vet  Lei.  Interpr.     G  Dtmm  Patron  D. 

t'hnsh.  '  Viil.  Vom  Annot.  in  I  ■   Pttrf  id  Vnnl.  k-nat. 

uthful  state.  *  It  it  becoming.  "  Without  any  hypocrify.  9  Who  v 

'  88 


TO   THE  MAGNESIANS.  99 

not  the  bishop  whom  he  sees,  but  affronts'1  Him  that  is  invisible :  for 
whatsoever  of  this  kind  is  done,"  it  reflects  not  upon  man,0  but  upon 
God,  who  knows  the  secrets  of  our  hearts. 

IV.  It  is  therefore  fitting  that  we  should  not  only  be  called  Chris- 
tians, but  be  so.  As  some  call,  indeed,  their  governor  bishop ;  but 
yet  do  all  things  without  him  ;  but  I  can  never  think  that  such  as  these 
have  a  good  conscience,  seeing  they  are  not  gathered  together  tho- 
roughly1 according  to  God's  commandment. 

V.  Seeing  then  all  things  have  an  end,  there  are  these  two  indiffer- 
ently" set  before  us,  death  and  life  :  and  every  one  shall  depart  unto 
his  proper  place.  For  there  are  two  sorts  of  coins,  the  one  of  God, 
the  other  of  the  world  ;  and  each  of  these  has  its  proper  inscription 
engraven  *  upon  it.  So  al"so  is  it  here.  The  unbelievers  are  of  this 
world  ;  but  the  faithful,  through  charity,  have  the  character  of  God  the 
Father  by  Jesus  Christ :  by  whom  if  we  are  not  readily  disposed  to 
die,  after  the  likeness  of  his  passion,  his  life  is  not  in  us. 

VI.  Forasmuch,  therefore,  as  I  have  in  the  persons  before-mentioned, 
seen  all  of  you5  in  faith  and  charity,  I  exhort  you,  that  ye  study  to  do 
all  things  in  a  divine  concord :  *  your  bishop  presiding  in  the  place  of 
God ;  your  presbyters  in  the  place  of  the  council  of  the  apostles  ;  and 
your  deacons,  most  dear1  to  me,  being  intrusted  with  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  was  with  the  Father  before  all  ages,  and  appeared  * 
in  the  end  to  us.  Wherefore,  taking  the  same  holy  course,'  see  that 
ye  all  reverence  one  another  ;  and  let  no  one  look  upon  his  neighbour 
after  the  flesh  ;  but  do  you  all  mutually  love  each  other  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  there  be  nothing  that  may  be  able  to  make  a  division  among  you  ; 
but  be  ye  united  to  your  bishop,  and  those  who  preside  over  you,  to  be 
your  pattern  and  direction  in  the  way  to  immortality. 

VII.  As  therefore  the  Lord  did  nothing  without  the  Father  being 
united  to  him  m — neither  by  himself,  nor  yet  by  his  apostles — so  neither 
do  ye  any  thing  without  your  bishop  and  presbyters ;  neither  endea- 
vour to  let  any  thing  appear  rational  to  yourselves  apart ;  but,  being 
come  together  into  the  same  place,  have  one  common"  prayer,  one 
supplication,  one  mind,  one  hope,  in  charity  and  in  joy  uudeflled. 
There  is  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  than  whom  nothing  is  better. — Where- 
fore come0  ye  all  together  as  unto  one  temple  of  God  ;  as  to  one  altar, 
as  to  one  Jesus  Christ  who  proceeded  from  one  Father/  and  exists  in 
one,  and  is  returned  to  one. 

VIII.  Be  not  deceived  with  strange'  doctrines,  nor  with  old  fables, 
which  are  unprofitable  ;  for  if  we  still  continue  to  live  according  to  the 


•  Deludes.  *  Vid.  Epist  Interpr.  ad  loc  e  Flesh.  d  Firmly.  •  Together, 

f  Character  set.  s  Your  whole  multitude.  h  The  concord  of  God.  •  Sweet.  *  Was 
made  manifest.  Heb.  ix.  26.  l  Habit  of  God.  m  John  x.  30  ;  xiv.  11,12;  xvii.  2 1,  22. 
n  Eph.  iv.  3—6.         •  Run.        r>  John  xvi.  28.  « Heterodox. 


100  ST.  IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE 

Jewish  law,  we  do  confess  ourselves  not  to  have  received  grace.  For 
even  the  most  holy  a  prophets  lived  according  to  Christ  Jesus  :  and  for 
this  cause  were  they  persecuted,  being  inspired  by  his  grace,  to  con- 
vince" the  unbelievers  and  disobedient  that  there  is  one  God  who  has 
manifested  himself  by  J<  BUS  Christ  his  Sun  ;  who  IS  bis  eternal  word, 
(not  coming  forth  from  silence,}  who  in  all  things  pleased  him  that  sent 
him. 

IX.  Wherefore,  if  the)  who  were  brought  up  in  these  ancient  lawsa 
< Mine  nevertheless  to  the  newness  of  hope,  no  longer  observing  sab- 
baths, but  keeping1  the  Lord's  day — in  which  also  our  life  is  sprung 
up  by  him,  and  through  his  death,  whom /  yet  some  deny;  by  which 
ui\sier\  we  have  been  brought"  to  believe,  and  therefore  wait  that  we 
may  be  found  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  master — how  shall 
we  be  able  to  live  different  from"  him,  whose  disciples  the  very  pro- 
phets themselves  being,  did  by  the  Spirit  expect  him  as  their  master. 
And  therefore,  he  whom  they  justly  waited  for,  being  come,  raised 
them  up  from  the  dead.' 

\.  Let  us  not  then  be  insensible  of  his  goodness;  for  should  he 
have  dealt  with  us  according  to  our  works,"  we  had  not  now  had  a 
being.  Wherefore,  being  become  his  disciples,  let  us  learn  to  live 
according  to  the  rules  of  Christianity :  for  whosoever  is  called  by  any 
other  name  besides'  this,  he  is  not  of  God.  Lay  aside,  therefore,  the 
old,  and  sour,  and  evil  leaven  ;  and  be  ye  changed  into  the  new  leaven, 
\vhi« -h  is  Jesus  Christ.  Be  ye  salted  in  him,  lest  any  one  among  you 
should  be  corrupted;  for  by  your  Saviour  ye  shall  be  judged. m  It  is 
absurd  to  name  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  Judaize.  For  the  Christian  reli- 
gion did  not  embrace  n  the  Jewish,  but  the  Jewish  the  Christian  ;  that 
so  every  tongue  that  believed  might  be  gathered  together  unto  God. 

XI.  These  things,  my  beloved,  I  write  unto  you,  not  that  I  know 
of  any  one  among  you  that  lie  °  under  this  error  ;  but,  as  one  of  the 
least  among  you,p  I  am  desirous  to  forewarn  you  that  ye  fall  not  into  the 
■Mies  ■  of  vain  doctrine,  but  that  ye  be  fully  instructed  in  the  birth, 
and  suffering,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  our  hope  ;  which  was 
fully  accomplished  in  the  time  of  the  government  of  Pontius  Pilate, 

and  thai  most  truly  and  i(  rtainly  ; r  and  from  which  God  forbid  that 
any  among  you  should  be  turned  aside. 

XII.  May  I,  therefore,  have  joy  of  you  in  all  things, if  I  shall  be 

worthy  of  it.  Tor  though  I  am  bound,  yet  I  am  not  worthy  to  be 
Compared  to  one  of  you  that  are  at  liberty.  I  know  that  ye  are  not 
putli  (1   up;  im  ye  have  Jesus  Christ  in  your  hearts.        \nd  especially 

m  M<»t  '('  b  Fully  to  satisfy.  'John  i.    1.  *  Things.         'Or,   living 

according  to.         /Or,  u-hi<h.        i  Heenvnl.  '  Without.        •  Matt.  \  \\  n.  .'>-.         k  \  Id 

Annot.  \'i»s.M.  in  1(m-.     8hotUd hih&H wmtat$d  owr  werk$.  Or.        l  Mvt<  than.        m  Con- 

virtni.tn-tttltroit'n.  "Believe.         °  Have  yourselm  so.         f  Lester  than  you.  I  // 

'  Firmly.  •  In  yourselves. 


TO    THE    MAGNESIANS.  101 

when  I  commend  you,  I  know  that  ye  are  ashamed ;  as  it  is  written, 
"  The  just  man  condemneth  himself."" 

XIII.  Study  therefore  to  be  confirmed  in  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord, 
and  of  his  apostles,  that  so,  whatsoever  ye  do,  ye  may  prosper  both  in 
body  and  spirit — in  faith  and  charity — in  the  Son,  and  in  the  Father, 
and  in  the  Holy  Spirit — in  the  beginning  and  in  the  end  ;  together 
with  your  most  worthy  bishop,  and  the  well- wrought b  spiritual  crown 
of  your  presbytery,  and  your  deacons  which  are  according  to  God. 
Be  subject  to  your  bishop,  and  to  one  another,  as  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
Father  according  to  the  flesh ;  and  the  apostles  both  to  Christ,  and  to 
the  Father,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost ;  that  so  ye  may  be  united  both  in 
body  and  spirit.0 

XIV.  Knowing  you  to  be  full  of  God,  I  have  the  more  briefly  ex- 
horted you.  Be  mindful  of  me  in  your  prayers,  that  I  may  attain  unto  d 
God  ;  and  of  the  church  that  is  in  Syria,  from  which  ■  I  am  not  worthy 
to  be  called ;  for  I  stand  in  need  of  your  joint  prayers  in  God,  and  of 
your  charity,  that  the  church  which  is  in  Syria  may  be  thought  worthy 
to  be  nourished /  by  your  church. 

XV.  The  Ephesians  from  Smyrna  e  salute  you,  (from  which  place  I 
write  unto  you,  being  present  here  to  the  glory  of  God,  in  like  manner 
as  you  are,)  who  have  in  all  things  refreshed  me,  together  with  Poly- 
carp,  the  bishop  of  the  Smyrnseans.  The  rest  of  the  churches,  in  the 
honour  of  Jesus  Christ,  salute  you.  Farewell,*  and  be  ye  strengthened 
in  the  concord  of  God,  enjoying1  his  inseparable  spirit  which  is  Jesus 
Christ. 

To  the  Magnesians. 

a  Prov.  xviii.  17.     Sept.  b  Worthily  complicated.  e  There  may  be  a  union  both 

fleshly  and  spiritual.     Eph.  Hi.  4.  d  Find,  enjoy.  e  Whence.         f  Bedewed.     Vid. 

Epist.  Interpol,  in  loc.        s  Which  came  to  Smyrna  on  my  account.        h  "Effcoade.        <  Pos 
sessing. 


i  2 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

THE  TRALLIANS. 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Theophorus,  to  the  holy  church  which  is 
at  Trails  in  .  Isia,  beloved  of  God  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  efacf,  and 
worthy  of  God,  having  peace  through11  the  flesh,  and  blood,  and  passion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  our  hope  in  the  resurrection  wfiich  it  by"  him:  which 
also  I  salute  in  its  fulness,  continuing  in  the  apostolical  character ;  wish- 
ing all  joy  and  happiness  unto  it. 

I.  I  have  heard  of c  your  blameless  and  constant  disposition d  through 
patience,  which  not  only  appears  in  your  outward  conversation,  but  is 
naturally  rooted  and  grounded  in  you  ;•  in  like  manner  as  Polybius, 
your  bishop,  has  declared  unto  me,  who  came  to  me  to  Smyrna,  by 
the  will  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ ;  and  so  rejoiced  together  with  me 
in  my  bonds f  for  Jesus  Christ,  that  in  effect  I  saw  your  whole  church K 
in  him.  Having  therefore  received  the  testimony  of  your  good  will* 
towards  me  for  God's  sake,1  by  him,  I  seemed  to  find  you,k  as  also  I 
knew  that  ye  were  the  followers1  of  God. 

II.  For  whereas  "  ye  are  subject  to  your  bishop  as  to  Jesus  Christ, 
ye  appear  to  me  to  live  not  after  the  manner  of  men,  but  according  to 
Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that  so  believing  in  his  death,  ye  might 
escape"  death.  It  is  therefore  necessary,  that  as  ye  do,  so  without 
your  bishop  you  should  do  nothing  ;  also  be  ye  subject  to  your  presby- 
ters, as  to  the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  hope  ;  in  whom,  if  we  walk, 
we  shall  be  found  in  him.  The  deacons,  also,"  as  being  the  ministers 
of  the  mysteries  of  Jesus  Christ,  must  by  all  means  please  all:  for  they 
are  not  the  ministers*  of  meal  and  drink,  but  of  the  church  of  God. 
Wherefore  they  must  avoid  all  offences  as  they  would  do  fire. 

III.  In    like    manner,  let  all  reverence  the  deacons-  as  Jesus  Christ  ; 

and  the  bishop  as  the  Father  ; '  and  the  presbyters  as  the  sanhedrim  of 
God,  and  college  of  the  apostles.  Without  these  there  is  no  church/ 
Concerning  all  which  I  am  persuaded  that  ye  think'  after  the  wet] 

*  In.  b  I'ntn.  'Known.  d  Insr/xmil  I,  tmnd.  '  U'huh  y<>u  hun    n>>! 

ing  to  utr,  hut  iim, r<lm^  '  1  Who  OM    imtnti.  *  Multitude.  '   \ 

■  'I-..        l  According  to  Qod.        *Vi<I.  Vommuh  in  lo&        'Imitators.        ■  ■ 
n  /•'/..  from,        c  Vid.  Vomhna  in  lo&        '  /'  •  A*  oliothi  hit-hop.  /iAy  J<su% 

chnst  tht  8m of  tht  Father, —  VoMtwialoe.  \  id  ifiln  Ootolar.  r.i   km   - 

<  illrtl.  '  So  do. 

102 


TO   THE    TRALLIANS.  103 

same  manner :  for  I  have  received,  and  even  now  have  with  me,  the 
pattern  of  your  love,  in  your  bishop,  whose  very  look  is  instructive," 
and  whose  mildness  powerful  ;b  whom,  I  am  persuaded,  the  very 
atheists  themselves  cannot  but  reverence.  But  because  I  have  a  love 
towards  you,  I  will  not  write  any  more  sharply  unto  you  about  this 
matter,  though  I  very  well  might ;  but  now  I  have  done  so,  lest,  being 
a  condemned  man,  I  should  seem  to  prescribe  to  you  as  an  apostle. 

IV.  I  have  great  knowledge c  in  God  ;  but  I  refrain d  myself,  lest  I 
should  perish  in  my  boasting.  For  now  I  ought  the  more  to  fear,  and 
not  hearken  to  those  that  would  puff  me  up  ;  for  they  that  speak  to  me 
in  my  praise  chasten  me :  for  I  indeed  desire  e  to  suffer,  but  I  cannot 
tell  whether  I  am  worthy  so  to  do.  And'  this  desire,  though  to  others 
it  does  not  appear,  yet  to  myself  it  is  for  that  very  reason  the  more 
violent.  I  have,  therefore,  need  of  moderation/  by  which  the  prince 
of  this  world  is  destroyed. 

V.  Am  I  not  able  to  write  to  you  of  heavenly  things  ?  But  I  fear 
lest  I  should  harm  you,  who  are  yet  but  babes  in  Christ,  (excuse  me 
this  care;)  and  lest,  perchance,  not  being  able  to  receive  them  ye 
should  be  choked  with  them.  For  even  I  myself,  although  I  am  in 
bonds,  yet  am  I  not  therefore  able  to  understand  heavenly  things — as 
the  places'1  of  the  angels,  and  the  several  companies  of  them,  under 
their  respective  princes — things  visible  and  invisible  ; — but  in  these  I 
am  yet  a  learner.  For  many  things  are  wanting  to  us,  that  we  come 
not  short  of  God. 

VI.  I  exhort  you,  therefore,  or  rather  not  I,  but  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ,  that  ye  use  none  but  Christian  nourishment,  abstaining  from 
pasture  which  is  of  another  kind  ;  I  mean  heresy.  For  they  that  are 
heretics*  confound  together  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  with  their  own 
poison,  whilst  they  seem  worthy  of  belief/  as  men  give  a  deadly  potion 
mixed  with  sweet  wine,  which  he  who  is  ignorant  of  does  with  the 
treacherous  pleasure  sweetly  drink  in  his  own  death. 

VII.  Wherefore  guard  yourselves  against  such  persons:  and  that 
you  will  do  if  you  are  not  puffed  up  ;  but  continue  inseparable  from 
Jesus  Christ  our  God,  and  from  your  bishop,  and  from  the  commands 
of  the  apostles.  He l  that  is  within  the  altar  is  pure  ;  but  he  that  is 
without,  that  is,  that  does  any  thing  without  the  bishop,  and  presbyters, 
and  deacons,  is  not  pure  in  his  conscience. 

VIII.  Not  that  I  know  there  is  any  thing  of  this  nature  among  you ; 
but  I  forearm  you,  as  being  greatly  beloved  by  me,  foreseeing  the 


a  Habit  of  body  is  great   instruction.  b  Power.     Vid.  Vossium  et  Usserium  in  loc, 

*  I  understand  many  things.  d  Measure.  e  Love.  /Vid.  Annot.  Vossii  in  loc. 

s  Mildness.  h  Orders.  *  Vid.  de  hoc  loco  conjecturas  Vossii,  Cotclerii,  et  Junii  apud 
Usserium.  Comp.  Epist.  Interpol,  in  loc.  Et  Voss.  Annot.  in  Epist.  ad  Phil.  p.  281. 
k  Being  believed  for  their  dignity.         *  Vid.  Usserii  Ob.s.  Marg.     Comp.  Coteler.  ib. 


104  ST.    IGNATItVs    EPISTLE 

snares  of  the  devil.  Wherefore  putting  on  meekness,  renew  yourselves 
in  faith,  that  is,  the  flesh  of  the  Lord  ;  and  in  charity,  that  is,  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Let  no  man  have  any  grudge"  against  his  neighbour. 
Give  no  occasion  to  the  Gentiles,  lest,  by  means  of  a  few  foolish  men, 
the  whole  congregation  of  God  be  evil  spoken  of:  for  wo  to  that  man 
through  whose  vanity  h  my  name'  is  blasphemed  by  any. 

IX.  Stop  your  ears,  therefore,  as  often  as  any  one  shall  speak  con- 
trary to  "  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  of  the  race  of  David,  of  the  Virgin 
Mary;  who  was  truly  born,  and  did  eat  and  drink  ;  was  truly  | 
cuted  under  Pontius  Pilate  ;  was  truly  crucified  and  dead  ;  both  those 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  being  spectators  of'  it. 
Who  was  also  truly  raised  from  the  dead  by  his  Father/  after  the 
manner  as  He*  will  also  raise  up  us  who  believe  in  him,  by  Christ 
Jesus,  without  whom  we  have  no  true  life. 

\ .  But  if  as  some  who  are  atheists — that  is  to  say,  infidels — pretend 
that  he  only  seemed  to  suffer,  (they  themselves  only  seeming  to  exist,) 
why  then  am  I  bound?  why  do  I  desire  to  fight  with  beasts  ?  There- 
fore do  I  die  in  vain ;  therefore  I  will  not  speak  falsely  against  the 
Lord. 

XL  Flee,  therefore,  these  evil  sprouts'  which  bring  forth  deadly 
fruit,  of  which  if  any  one  taste,  he  shall  presently  die.  For  these  are 
not  the  plants  of  the  Father ;  seeing,  if  they  were,  they  would  appear 
to  be  the  branches  of  the  cross,  and  their  fruit  would  be  incorruptible, 
by  which  he  invites  you  through  his  passion,  who  are  members  of 
him.  For  the  head  cannot  be  without  its  members,  God  having  pro- 
mi -<m!  a  union,  that  is,  Himself. 

XII.  I  salute  you  from  Smyrna,  together  with  the  churches  of  God,' 
that  are  present  with  me,  who  have  refreshed  me  in  all  things,  both  in 
the  flesh  and  in  the  spirit.  My  bonds,  which  I  carry  about  me,  for  the 
sake  of  Christ,  (beseeching  him  that  I  may  attain  unto  God,)  exhort 
you,  that  you  continue  in  concord  among  yourselves,k  and  in  prayer 
with  one  another;  for  it  becomes  every  one  of  you,  especially  the 
presbyters,  to  refresh  the  bishop,  to  the  honour  of  the  Father,  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  apostles.  I  beseech  you,  that  you  hearken  to  me  in 
love,  that  I  may  not,  by  those  things  which  I  write,  rise  up  in  witness 
against  you.'  Pray  also  for  me,  who,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  sjtand 
in   need  of  your  prayers,  that  I  may  be  worthy  of  the  portion  which  1 

am  about  to  obtain,  that  I  be  not  found  a  reprobate. 

XIII.  The    love  of  those  who   are   at  Smyrna    and    Ephesus,  salute 

you.     Remember  in  your  prayers  the  church  of  Syria,  from  which  I 


a.l»y   thing,  *Tknmgk  whom   "■   vonkj.  'InieS  in.  •">.  d  U  > 

•  String,  or  looking  on.         tBU  Fathp  EKm         *  Tin  Father.         w 

'  '• r-  The  <!■  the  churches.        4  Ti neordofyou, 

you,  writing. 


TO   THE    TRALLIANS.  105 

am  not  worthy  to  be  called,  being  one  of  the  least  of  it."  Fare  ye 
well  in  Jesus  Christ,  being  subject  to  your  bishop  as  to  the  command 
of  God,  and  so  likewise  to  the  presbytery.  Love  every  one  his  brother 
with  an  unfeigned b  heart.  My c  soul  be  your  expiation  not  only  now, 
but  when  I  shall  have  attained  unto  God ;  for  I  am  yet  under  danger. 
But  the  Father  is  faithful  in  Jesus  Christ,  to  fulfil  both  mine  and  your 
petition,  in  whom  may  we  be  found  unblamable. 

To  the  Trallians. 


Them.        *  Undivided.        •  Vid.  Annot.  Vossii  et  Coteler.  in  loc. 


14 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

THE  ROMANS. 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Theophorus,  to  the  church  which  has  ob- 
\ uined  mercy*  from  the  Majesty  of  the  Most  High  Father,  and  /lis  only- 
begotten b  Son  Jesus  Christ ;  beloved,  and  illuminated  through*  the  will 
of  Him  who  xcilleth  all  things  which  are  according  to  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  God,d  which  also  presides  in  the  place'  of  the  region  of  the 
Romans,  and  which f  I  salute  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  [as  being*] 
united  both  injksh  and  spirit  to  all  his  commands,  and  filed  ''  with  the 
grace  of  God,  [all '  joy]  in  Jesus  Christ  our  God. 

I.  Forasmuch"  as  I  have  at  last1  obtained,  through  my  prayers  to 
God,  to  see  your  faces,"1  which  I  much  desired  to  do,  being  bound"  in 
Christ  Jesus,  I  hope  ere  long  to  salute  you,  if  it  shall  be  the  will"  of 
God  to  grant  me  to  attain  unto  the  end  I  long  for.  For  the  beginning 
La  well-disposed,  if  I  shall  but  have  grace,  without  hinderance,  to 
receive  what  is  appointed  for  me.'  But  I  fear  your  love,  lest  it  do  me 
an  injury  :  for  it  is  easy  for  you  to  do  what  you  please  ;  but  it  will  be ' 
hard  for  me  to  attain  unto  God,  if  you  spare  me. 

II.  But  I  would  not  that  ye  should  please  men,r  but  God  ;  whom* 
also  ye  do  please.  For  neither  shall  I  ever  hereafter  have  such  an 
opportunity  of  going  unto'  God;  nor  will  you,  if  ye  shall  now  b«- 
silent,  evei  be  entitled  to  a  better  work.  For  if  you  shall  be  silent  in 
my  behalf,"  I  .shall  be  made  partaker  of  God  ;  but  if  you  shall  love 
niv  body,*  I  shall  have  my  course  again  to  run.     Wherefore  ye  cannot 

•   a  greater  kindness  than  to  sutler  me  to  be  sacrificed  unto  God, 
that  the  altar  is  already  prepared  ;  that  when  ye  shall  be  gathered 

ber»  in  love,  ye  maj  give-  thanks  to  the  Father,  through  Christ 

■  \  1,1.  Pemon.  VmA.  Imnt.  per.  I,  ch.zvi  p,  114,         ftOnuttedr— Gr.         ■  In. 
I  rtoidt  i  "i  tfi< >■/'/..-  i  -  tht  Romans:  worthy  of  Qod:  most 

/>i(iis,<l,  moot  worthy  to  obtain  what  u  dtoim}  wwot  pw 
i  Karitabb ,  ouUodby  the  noww of  Christ  wad  tht  Watkor* — (Jr.         •  Typooftho chomo,  i.  <•• 

Thichwrdi  of  tht  Roman  "t.inloc.         fjBaO.         '  The  So*  of  the  Father  ; 

,:,,. — dr.        A  Wholly  fitted — (>r.       i  /  "i  my 

colour}  Mic  h  pun  or  immatntatt  Mir.         'Ynl.   \i>->.  Annoti  fa  loc 

"■  Worthy  ■  (  Qod,         *Jtndhtm  rocriood  >i>>i  toon  thorn  I  aohodtbtmg  bowmd.         Mir. 

v  My  Int.  « /.<.  T  J  inll   m>t    pltttW    ymt    IIMM, — (Jr.  '  .h.  * . /" OMMf  WMtO. 

■  From  mc      •  z  Fk*h.        *  Btimg  btcumc  a  <  hunts.        *  s 

106 


TO    THE    ROMANS.  107 

Jesus,  that  he  has  vouchsafed  to  bring  a  bishop  of  Syria a  unto  you, 
being  called  from  the  east  unto  the  west.  For  it  is  good  for  me  to  set 
from  the  world  unto  God,  that  I  may  rise  again  unto  him. 

III.  Ye  have  never  envied  any  one  ;  ye  have  taught  others.  I 
would  therefore  that  yeb  should  now  do  those  things  yourselves,  which 
in  your  instructions  you  have  prescribed c  to  others.  Only  pray  for 
me,  that  God  would  give  me  both  inward  and  outward  strength,  that 
I  may  not  only  say,  but  will ;  nor  be  only  called  a  Christian,  but  be 
found  one.  For  if  I  shall  be  found  a  Christian,  I  may  then  deservedly 
be  called  one,  and  be  thought  faithful,  when  I  shall  no  longer  appear 
to  the  world.  Nothing  is  good  that  is  seen  : d  for  even  our  God  Jesus 
Christ,  now  that  he  is  in  the  Father,  does  so  much  the  more  appear. 
A  Christian  is  not  a  work  of  opinion,6  but  of  greatness  of  mind,  ^es- 
pecially when  he  is  hated  by  the  world.) 

IV.  I  write  to  the  churches,  and  signify  s  to  them  all,  that  I  am  will- 
ing to  die  for  God,  unless  you  hinder  me.*  I  beseech  you  that  you 
show  not1  an  unseasonable  good- will  towards  me.  Suffer  me  to  be 
food  to  the  wild  beasts,  by  whom  I  shall  attain  unto  God.  For  I  am 
the  wheat  of  God  ;  and  I  shall  be  ground  by  the  teeth  of  the  wild 
beasts,  that  I  may  be  found  the  pure  bread k  of  Christ.  Rather  en- 
courage1 the  beasts,  that  they  may  become  my  sepulchre,  and  may 
leave  nothing  of  my  body ;  that  being  dead,  I  may  not  be  troublesome 
to  any :  then  shall  I  be  truly  the  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  when  the 
world  shall  not  see  so  much  as  my  body.  Pray  therefore  unto  Christ 
for  me,  that  by  these  instruments  I  may  be  made  the  sacrifice  m  of  God. 
I  do  not,  as  Peter  and  Paul,  command  you.  They  were  apostles,  I  a 
condemned  man  ;  they  were  free,  but  I  am  even  to  this  day  a  servant. 
But  if  I  shall  suffer,  I  shall  then  become  the  freeman  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  shall  rise  free."  And  now,  being  in  bonds,  I  learn  not  to  desire 
any  thing.0 

V.  From  Syria  even  unto  Rome  I  fight  with  beasts,  both  by  sea  and 
land,  both  night  and  day  ;  being  bound  to  ten  leopards  ;  that  is  to  say, 
to  such  a  band  of  soldiers,  who,  though  treated  with  all  manner  of 
kindness,  are  the  worse  for  it.  But  I  am  the  more  instructed  by  their 
injuries  ;  "  yet  am  I  not  therefore  justified." p  May  I  enjoy  the  wild 
beasts  that  are  prepared  for  me ;  which  also  I  wish  may  exercise  all 
their  fierceness  upon   me : 4   and    whom,  for    that   end   I   will   en- 


a  That  a  bishop  of  Syria  should  he  found.         b  That  these  things  also  should  be  firm. 
c  Com?nanded.     Vid.  Annot.  Usserii  in  loc.  N.  26,  27.  d  Nothing  that  is  seen  is  eter- 

nal :  for  the  things  that  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  that  are  not  seen  are  eternal — 
Gr.         ■  Persuasion,  or  silence. — Gr.  [/  Desunt. — Gr.]  e  Vid.  Usser.  Annot.  N.  31. 

*  Forbid  me.  » Be  not.  *Vid.  Lat.  Vet.   Interpr.     Et   Annot.  Usser.    N.  33. 

1  Flatter.  m  Desunt. — Gr.  ♦»  Free  in  him. — Gr.  •  Any  worldly  at  vain  things. — 
Gr.  p  1  Cor.  iv.  4.  *  Vid.  Voss.  in  loc.  Usser.  Annot.  N.  48.  May  he  ready  fot 
me. — Gr. 


108  ST.  IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE 

courage,0  that  they  may  be  sure  to  devour  me,  and  not  serve  me  as 
they  have  done  some,  whom,  out  of  fear,  they  have  not  touched.  But 
and  if  they  will  not  do  it  willingly,  I  will  provoke  them  to  it.  Pardon  me 
in  this  matter;  I  know  what  H  profitable  for  me.  Now  I  begin  to  be 
a  disciple;"  norc  shall  any  thing  DOTS  m<\  whether  visible  or  invisible, 
that  I  may  attain  to  Chris!  Jesus*  Let  fire  and  the  cross;  let  the  com- 
panies'1 of  wild  beasts ;  ],  t  breakings  of  bones  and  tearing'  of  mem- 
bers; let  the  shattering-' in  pieces  of  the  whole  body,  and  all*  the 
wicked  torments  of  the  devil  come  upon  me  ;  only  let  me  enjoy"  Jesus 
Christ. 

VI.  All  the  ends'  of  the  world,  and  the  kingdoms  of  it,1*  will  profit 
me  nothing :  I  would  rather  die  for '  Jesus  Christ,  than  rule  to  the 
utmost  ends  of  the  earth.  Him  m  I  seek  who  died  for  us ;  Him  I 
desire  who  rose  again  for  us.  This  is  the  gain "  that  is  laid  up  for  me. 
Pardon  me,  my  brethren  ;  ye  shall  not  hinder  me  from  living :  [nor, 
seeing  I  desire  to  go  to  God,  may  you  separate  me  from  him  for  the 
sake  of  this  world;0  nor  seduce  me  by  any  of  the  desires"  of  it.] 
Suffer  me  to  enter  into «  pure  light ;  where  being  come,  I  shall  be  in- 
deed the  servant r  of  God.8  Permit  me  to  imitate  the  passion  of  my 
God.  If  any  one  has  Him  within  himself,  let  him  consider  what  I 
desire  ;  and  let  him  have  compassion  on  me,  as  knowing  how  I  am 
straitened.' 

VII.  The  prince  of  this  world  would  fain  carry  me  away,  and  cor- 
rupt my  resolution"  towards  my  God.  Let  none  of  you,  therefore,* 
help"  him  ;  rather  do  ye  join  with  me,  that  is,  with  God.  Do  not 
speak  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet  covet  the  world.  Let  not  envy  dwell 
with  you :  no  not  though  I  myself,  when  I  shall  be  come  unto  you, 
should  exhort  you  to  it,  yet  do  not  ye  hearken  to  me,  but  rather  believe 
what  I  now  write  to  you.  For  though  I  am  alive  at  the  writing  this, 
yet  my  desire  is  to  die.  My  love  is  crucified  ;  [-  and  the  fire"  that  is 
within  me  does  not  desire  any  wait  r;  but  being  alive  and  hh  springing 
with  nv,  says,]  Come  to  the  Father.  I  take  no  pleasure  in  the  food 
of  corruption,  nor  in  the  pleasures  of  this  life.  I  desire  the  bread  of 
God,  which  iscc  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ,  [dd  of  the  seed  of  David  ; 

•IWr.  Aiiimt.  N.4H.  'Luke  ut.  37.  •  V  id.  Colder,  in  be,  Horn.  viii.  38,39. 
fj         ,,  </■•  ".     and  rending*, — (Jr.         t  Vid.  Ummt.  Annot  H 

lib.  N.  57.  h  That   I  vuiij  <  »j<<y.  'dr.-   I  *  Of  tin  -Cr.— 

m  !•',,>■  what  if  a  moi  |  world,  and  km  kit  mm 

«„„// — Qr.  Add.         *U$wy, — <Jr.    ITU.  Vow.  Correct  p.  801.  N  •  that  I 

MMlM '/" .  "  .—(Jr.  I  l>y  matter. 

Imykoldo*.         'Mam,        'Vid.  Am  oloc         '  What  tkmgt  mmmm 

-Jfiwrf, will         ■  Who  m  y\i.'  tanotmloe.  Itkmrti* 

not  any  fin  -within  Ml   MOfioMJ    mat:, »..'>■'  |  M*g  water  sayi»z  within  me. 

(jr.]        " CuUilwiiM  ■Mini  iirplMMt  Aimnt  in  lor     I     er.  N.  71  VoM.inloc 

c.-ntr.  <  \>t«-l   r.  «|.  v.  «  The  luavenly  \>r,  ad  win,  h  is.— Qr.  [*  Ti 

in  these  last  tun,  s  of  the  seed  „f  David  and  .V  raham,  and  the  drink  of  (Jod  th       I 

-Or.] 


TO   THE    ROMANS.  109 

and  the  drink  that  I  long  for,]  is  his  blood,  which  is  incorruptible 
love." 

VIII.  I  have  no  desire  to  live  any  longer  after  the  manner  of  men  ; 
neither  shall  I,"  if  you  consent.  Be  ye  therefore  willing,  that  ye  your- 
selves also  may  be  pleasing0  to  God.  I*  exhort  you  in  a  few  words;6 
I  pray  you  believe  me.  Jesus  Christ  will  show  you  that  I  speak  truly. 
My  mouth  is  without  deceit,  and  the  Father  hath  truly  spoken  by  /  it. 
Pray  therefore  for  me,  that  I  may  accomplish  what  I  desire.  I  have 
not  written  to  you  after  the  flesh,  but  according  to  the  will  of  God. 
If  I  shall  suffer,  ye  have  loved  *  me ;  but  if  I  shall  be  rejected/  ye 
have  hated  me. 

IX.  Remember  in  your  prayers  the  church  of  Syria,  which  now 
enjoys  God  for  its  shepherd  instead  of  me  :  let l  Jesus  Christ  only 
oversee  it,  and  your*  charity.  But  I  am  even  ashamed  to  be  reckoned 
as  one  of  them  :  for  neither  am  I  worthy,  being  the  least  among  them, 
and  as  one  born  out  of  due  season.1  But  through  mercy  I  have  ob- 
tained to  be  somebody,  if  I  shall  get  unto  God.  My  spirit  salutes  you ; 
and  the  charity  of  the  churches  that  have  received  me  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  not  as  a  passenger :  for  even  they  that  were  not  near  to 
me  in  the  way,  have  gone  before  me  to  the  next  city  to  meet  me. 

X.  These  things  I  write  to  you  from  Smyrna,  by  the  most  worthy 
of  the  church  of  Ephesus.  There  is  now  with  me,  together  with 
many  others,  Crocus,  most  beloved  of  me.  As  for  those  which  are  m 
come  from  Syria,  and  are  gone  before  me  to  Rome,  to  the  glory  of  God, 
I  suppose  you  are  not  ignorant  of  them.  Ye  shall  therefore  signify  to 
them  that  I  draw  near,  for  they  are  all  worthy  both  of  God  and  of  you : 
whom  it  is  fit  that  you  refresh  in  all  things.  This  have  I  written  to 
you,  the  day  before  the  ninth  of  the  calends  of  September."  Be  strong 
unto  the  end,  in  the  patience  of  Jesus  Christ.0 

To  the  Romans. 


aGr.  adds,  and  perpetual  life.  b  And  that  shall  be.  e  Willed.  dVid.  Annot. 

Voss.  in  loc.  'By  a  short  letter.  fin.  s  Ye  have  willed.  »  Viz.  As  unworthy 
to  suffer.  »'  Vid.  Vet.  Interpr.  Lat.  *  Shall  oversee  it.  1 1  Cor.  xv.  8.  m  Vid.  Vet. 
Interpr.  Lat.         "That  is  the  23d  of  August.— Gr.         °  Amen.— Gr. 


K 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

THE  PHILADELPHIANS. 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Tlieophorus,  to  the  church  of  God  the 
Fatlier,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  at  Philadelphia  in  .Ism; 
which  has  obtained  mercy,  being  fixed  in  the  concord  of  God,  and  re- 
joicing evermore*  in  the  passion  of  our  Lord,  and  being  fulfilled  in  all 
mercy  through  his  resurrection :  which b  also  I  salute  in  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  which  is  our  eternal  and  undefiled  joy,  especially  if  they 
are  at  tuiity  with  the  bishop,  and  presbyters  who  are  with  him,  and  tin. 
deacons  appointed  according  to c  the  mindd  of  Jesus  Christ;  whom  he 
has  settled  according  to  his  own  will  in  allfirm.ness  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 

I.  Which  bishop  I  know  obtained  that  great  ministry  among  you/ 
not  of  himself,  neither  by  men,  nor  out  of  vain  glory,  but  b)r/  the  love 
of  God  the  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  whose  moderation  I 
admire/  who  by  his  silence  is  able  to  do  more  than  others  with  all 
their  vain  talk,"  for  he  is  fitted  to  the  commands  as  the  harp  to  its 
itrings.  Wherefore  my  soul  esteems  his  mind  towards  God  most 
happy,  knowing  it  to  be  fruitful  in  all  virtue,  and  perfect ;  full  of  con- 
>  v,  free  from  passion,  and  according  to*  all  the  moderation  of  the 
living  ( rod. 

II.  Wherefore,  as  becomes  the  children  both  of  the  light  and  of 
truth,  flee  divisions  and  false  doctrines:  but  where  your  shepherd  is, 
there  do  ye,  Sfl  sheep,  follow  after;  for  there  are  many  wolves*  who 
leem  worth}  ol  belief,  that  with  a  false1  pleasure  lead  captive  thos* 
that  run  in  the  course  of  God  ;  but  in  your  concord  they  shall  find  no 
place. 

III.  Abstain,  therefore,  from  those  evil  herbs  which  Jesus  Christ 
does  not  dress;  because  such  are  riot  the  plantation  of  the  Father. 
Not  that  I  have  found  any  division  among  you,  but  rather  all  manna 

of  purity."      For  as  many  as  are  of  GrOd,  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  als< 

with  their  bishop.     And  as  manv  as  shall  with  repentance  return  into 

the  Unity  Of  the  Church,  even   these  shall  also  h<-  the  servants  of  God, 


•  hmparmblf.  ITid.  Vet  Interpr.  LaL         ■/.         d  Will,  order.        'JtMrtrj 

btkmgi                          'if.  /  In.            '!!           I rifc  tne  with  wonder.           k  Thost  tha' 

Wtmtkimg$,           *  In.  k  Vid.  Voss.  Ann-',  m  IOC.            '  I'vii.          MClMMMM  M 

110 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILADELPH1ANS.  Ill 

that  they  may  live  according  to  Jesus  Christ.  Be  not  deceived, 
brethren :  if  any  one  follows  him  that  makes  a  schism  in  the  church, 
he  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  :  if  any  one  walks  after  any 
other  opinion,  he  agrees  not  with  the  passion  of  Christ. 

IV.  Wherefore  let  it  be  your  endeavour  to  partake  all  of  the  same 
holy  eucharist ;  for  there  is  but  one  flesh  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
one  cup  in  the  unity  of  his  blood  ;  one  altar ;  as  also  there  is  one 
bishop,  together  with  his  presbytery,  and  the  deacons,  my  fellow-ser- 
vants ;  that  so  whatsoever  ye  do,  ye  may  do  it  according  to  the  will 
of  God. 

V.  My  brethren,  the  love  I  have  towards  you  makes  me  the  more 
large;0  and  having  a  great  joy  in  you,  I  endeavour  to  secure  you 
against  danger ;  or  rather  not  I,  but  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  being 
bound,  I  the  more  fear,  as  being  yet  only  *  on  the  way  to  suffering. 
But  your  prayer  to  God  shall  make  me  perfect,  that  I  may  attain  to 
that  portion  which  by  God's  mercy  is  allotted  to  me ;  fleeing  to  the 
gospel  as  to  the  flesh  of  Christ,  and  to  the  apostles  as  to  the  presbytery 
of  the  church.  Let  us  also  love  the  prophets,  forasmuch  as  they  also 
have  led  us  to  the  gospel,  and  to  hope  in  Christ,0  and  to  expect  him.d 
In  whom  also  believing,  they  were  saved,  in  the  unity  of  Jesus  Christ; 
being  holy  men,  worthy  to  be  loved,  and  had  in  wonder,  who  have 
received  testimony  from  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  numbered  in  the  gospel 
of  our  common  hope. 

VI.  But  if  any  one  shall  preach  the  Jewish  law  ■  unto  you,  hearken 
not  unto  him ;  for  it  is  better  to  receive  the  doctrine  of  Christ  from 
one  that  has  been  circumcised,  than  Judaism  from  one  that  has  not. 
But  if  either  the  one  or  other  do  not  speak  concerning  Christ  Jesus, 
they  seem  to  me  to  be  but  as  monuments  and  sepulchres  of  the  dead, 
upon  which  are  written  only  the  names  of  men.  Flee  therefore  the 
wicked  arts  and  snares  of  the  prince  of  this  world,  lest  at  any  time, 
being  oppressed  by  his  cunning/  ye  grow  cold  ?  in  your  charity.  But 
come  all  together  into  the  same  place,  with  an  undivided  heart.  And 
I  bless  my  God  that  I  have  a  good  conscience  towards  you,  and  that 
no  one  among  you  has  whereof  to  boast,  either  open  or  privately,  that 
I  have  been  burdensome  to  him  in  much  or  little.  And  I  wish,  to  all 
amongst  whom  I  have  conversed,  that  it  may  not  turn  to  a  witness 
against  them. 

VII.  For  although  some  would  have  deceived  me  according  to  the 
flesh,  yet  the  spirit,  being  from  God,  is  not  deceived :  for  it  knows 
both  whence  it  comes,  and  whither  it  goes,  and  reproves  the  secrets 
of  the  heart.     I  cried  whilst  I  was  among  you,  I  spake  with   a  loud 

•  Very  much  poured  out.  b  Vid.  Voss.  in  loc.    Imperfect.  eVid.   Voss.  in  loc. 

*  Or,  preached  of  the  gospel :  and  hoped  in  hiin,  and  expected  him.  ■  Judaism.  f  Opi- 
nion, counsel.         '  Weak. 


112  ST.  IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE 

voice, — Attend  to  the  bishop,  and  to  the  presbytery,  and  to  the  dea- 
cons. Now  some  supposed  that  I  spake  this  as  foreseeing  the  division  ■ 
that  should  come  among  you.  But  he  is  my  witness  for  whose  sake  I 
am  in  bonds,  that  I  knew  nothing  from  any^man  :  but  the  Spirit  spake, 
saying  on  this  wise: — Do  nothing  without  the  bishop  ;  keep  youi 
bodies'  as  the  temples  of  God;  love  unity;  flee  divisions;  be  the 
followers  of  Christ,  as  he  was  of  the  Father. 

\ "III.  I  therefore  did  as  became  me,  as  a  man  composed  to  unity  : 
for  where  there  is  division  and  wrath,  God  dwelleth  not.  But  the 
Lord  forgives  all  that  repent,  if  they  return r  to  the  unity  of  God,  and 
to  me  council  of  the  bishop.  For  I  trust  in  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  he  will  free  you  from  d  every  bond.  Nevertheless  I  exhort  you 
that  you  do  nothing  out  of  strife,  but  according  to  the  instruction  of 
Christ  ;  because  I  have  heard  of  some  who  say,  Unless  I  find  it  written 
in  the  originals,'  I  will  not  believe  it  to  be  written  in  the  Gospel.  And 
when  I  said,  it  is  written,  they  answered  what  lay  before  them  in  their 
corrupted  copies.  But  to  me,  Jesus  Christ  is  instead  of  all  the  uncor- 
rupted  monuments  in  the  world,  together  with  those  undefiled'  monu- 
ments, his  cross,  and  death,  and  resurrection,  and  the  faith  which  is  bv 
him  ;  by  which  I  desire,  through  your  prayers,  to  be  justified. 

IX.  The  priests,  indeed,  are  good;  but  much  better  is  the  high 
priest,  to  whom  the  Holy  of  Holies  has  been  committed,  and  who 
alone  has  been  intrusted  with  the  secrets  of  God.  He  is  the  door  of 
the  Father,  by  which  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  pro- 
phets enter  in,  as  well  as  the  apostles  and  the  church.  And  all  the-. 
things  tend  to  the  unity  which  is  of  God.  Howbeit  the  gospel  has 
somewhat  in  it  far  above  all  other  dispensations  ;  namely,  the  appear- 
ance of  our  Saviour  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  passion  and  resurrec- 
tion.    For  the  beloved  prophets  referred  to  him  :  but  the  gospel  is  the 

ction  of  incorruption.     All,  therefore,  together  are  good,  if  ye 
believe  with  charity. 

X.  Now  as  COnceftling  the  church  of  Antioch,  which  is  in  Syria 
seeing  I  am  told  that  through  your  prayers,  and  the  bowels  which  y< 
Lt\-  tOWtrdl  it  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  in  peace,  it  will  become  you,  a* 
the  church  of  God,  to  ordain  some  deacon  *  to  go  to  them  thither  as 
the  ambassador  of  God  ;  that  he  may  rejoice  with  them  when  they  meet 
together,  and   glorify  God's  name.      Blessed   be   that   man,   in  JeSQS 

Christ,  who  shall  be  found  worthy  <>f  Bach  a  ministry;  and  ye  your- 
attVei  also  shall  be  glorified.  Now,  if  ye  be  willing  it  is  not  impos- 
sible I'M  you  to  do  this  for  tin-  sake  ^i'  God  ;  as  also  the  other  neigh- 
bouring churches  bavs  assjl  them, — some  bishops,  some  priests  and 

!•■  tc 


0  Of  mum.        » Flak.         ■/'■•,  d  Wm  mil  bm/rm  yon.         '  Aichitw. 

■     I    \     I      \n;i"t.  in  loc.  '  C'ltnurhctl.  *  Messenger,  or  men 


TO    THE    PHILADELPHIANS.  113 

XI.  As  concerning  Philo,  the  deacon  of  Cilicia,  a  most  worthy 
man,0  he  still  ministers  unto  me  in  the  word  of  God,  together  with 
Rheus  •  of  Agathopolis,  a  singular  good  person,  who  has  followed  me 
even  from  Syria,  not  regarding  his  life  :  these  also  bear  witness  unto 
you.  And  I  myself  give  thanks  to  God  for  you,  that  ye  receive  them 
as  the  Lord  shall  receive  you.  But  for  those  that  dishonoured  them, 
may  they  be  forgiven  through  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  charity 
of  the  brethren  that  are  at  Troas  salutes  you,  from  whence  also  I  now 
write  by  Burrhus,  who  was  sent,  together  with  me,  by  those  of  Ephesus 
and  Smyrna,  for  respect  sake.  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  honour 
them,  in  whom  they  hope,  both  in  flesh,  and  soul,  and  spirit, — in  faith, 
in  love,  in  unity.     Farewell  in  Christ  Jesus,  our  common  hope. 

a  Vossius,  a  martyr,  or  confessor. — Vid.  Annot.  in  loc.  *Vid.  Vossii  Annot.  in  Ep> 

ad  Smym.  p.  261.     See  below,  p.  116,  sect.  x. 


15  k2 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  [GNATIU6 

TO 

THE  BMYRKBANS. 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Theophorus,  to  the  church  of  God  the 
Father,  and  of  the  beloved  Jesus  Christ;  which  God  hath  mercifully 
blessed a  with  every  good  gift,  being  filled  with  faith  and  charity,  so  that 
it  is  wanting  in  no  gift ;  nwst  worthy  of  God,  and  fruitful  in  saints  ; 
the  church  which  is  at  Smyrna  in  Asia,  all  joy  through  his  immaeubUe 
Spirit,  and  the  Word  of  God. 

I.  I  glorify  God,  even  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  given  you  such  wis- 
dom :  for  I  have  observed  that  you  are  settled  in  an  immovable  faith, 
as  if  you  were  nailed  to  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  both  in 
the  flesh  and  in  the  spirit,  and  are  confirmed  in  love  through  the  blood 
of  Christ,  being  fully  persuaded  of  those  things  which  relate  unto  our 
Lord,6  who  truly  was  of  the  race  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,  but 
the  Son  of  God  according  to  the  will  and  power  of  God ;  truly  born 
of  the  Virgin,  and  baptized  of  John :  that  so  all  righteousness  might 
be  fulfilled  by  him.c  He  was  also  truly  crucified  by  Pontius  Pilate  and 
Herod  the  tetrarch,  being  nailed  for  us  in  the  flesh,  by  the  fruits  of 
which  we  are  saved,  even  by  the  most  blessed  passion,  that  he  might 
gel  up  '  a  token  for  all  ages  through  his  resurrection,  to  all  his  holy  and 
faithful  servants,  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  in  one  body  of  his 
church. 

II.  Now  all  those  things  be  Buffered  for  us,  that  we  might  be  saved. 
And  he  ■offered  truly,  as  he  also  truly  raised  up  himself]  and  not,  as 
some  unbelievers  say,  that  he  only  seemed  to  suffer,  they  themselves 
only  seeming  to  be.'  And  as  they  believe,  so  it  shall  happen  unto 
th»'in  •.  when  being  divested  of  the   body,  they  shall  become  mere 

spirits/ 

III.  But  I  know,  that  even  after  his  resurrection,  be  was  in  the  flu  ah  ; 
and  I  believe  that  he  is  still  so.  And  when  he  came  to  those  who 
Were  with  Peter,  he*  said  unto  them,  «  Take,  handle  me,  and  1 


■  Coop,  l  Oor.  mi.  •.::>.        *>  Unto  tkt  Lard.        '  Matt.  iii.  15.        d  Vid.  Vow.  Annot. 

in  lor.  '  i.  <.  Christians.  /  hlCOrfOrml  unci  dtnwnuir.  t  Ex  Evan. 

Sec  Dr.  Qnbe,  Bjpidleg.  turn.  ii.  p.  K& 
lit 


EPISTLE    TO    THE    SMYRNJEANS.  115 

I  am  not  an  incorporeal  demon."  And  straightway  they  felt  him  and 
believed  ;  being  convinced  both  by  his  flesh  and  spirit.  For  this  cause 
they  despised  death,  and  were  found  to  be  above  it.a  But  after  his 
resurrection  he  did  eat  and  drink  with  them,  as  he  was  flesh  ;  although 
as  to  his  spirit  he  was  united  to  the  Father. 

IV.  Now  these  things,  beloved,  I  put"  you  in  mind  of,  not  question- 
ing but  that  you  yourselves  also  believe0  that  they  are  so.  But  I  arm 
you  beforehand  against  certain  beasts  in  the  shape  of  men,  whom  you 
must  not  only  not  receive,  but  if  it  be  possible  must  not  meet  with. 
Only  you  must  pray  for  them,  that  if  it  be  the  will  of  God,  they  may 
repent ;  which  yet  will  be  very  hard.  But  of  this  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  the  power,  who  is  our  true  life.  For  if  all  those  things  were 
done  only  in  show  by  our  Lord,  then  do  I  also  seem  only  to  be  bound. 
And  why  have  I  given  up  myself  to  death,  to  the  fire,  to  the  sword, 
to  wild  beasts  ?  But  now  the  nearer  I  am  to  the  sword,  the  nearer  I 
am  to  God :  when  I  shall  come  among  the  wild  beasts,  I  shall  come 
to  God.  Only,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  I  undergo  all,  to  suffer 
together  with  him  ;  He  who  has  made  a  perfect  man  strengthening  me. 

Whom  some,  not  knowing,  do  deny  ;  or  rather  have  been  denied  by 
him,  being  the  advocates  of  death,  rather  than  of  the  truth.  Whom 
neither  the  prophecies,  nor  the  law  of  Moses  have  persuaded,  nor  the 
gospel  itself,  even  to  this  day,  nor  the  sufferings  of  every  one  of  us : 
for  they  think  also  the  same  things  of  us.  For  what  does  a  man  profit 
me.  if  he  shall  praise  me,  and  blaspheme  my  Lord  ;  not  confessing 
that  he  was  truly  made  man  ? d  Now  he  that  doth  not  say  this,  does 
in  effect  deny  him,  and  is  in  death.  But  for  the  names  of  such  as  do 
this,  they  being  unbelievers,  I  thought  it  not  fitting  to  write  them  unto 
you.  Yea,  God  forbid  that  I  should  make  any  mention  of  them,  till 
they  shall  repent  to  a  true  belief  of  Christ's  passion,  which  is  our  re- 
surrection. 

VI.  Let  no  man  deceive  himself:  both  the  things  which  are  in 
heaven,  and  the  glorious  angels  and  princes,  whether  visible  or  invisi- 
ble, if  they  believe  not  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  it  shall  bee  to  them  to 
condemnation.  "  He  that  is  able  to  receive  this,  let  him  receive  it.'v 
Let  no  man's  place*  or  state  in  the  world  puff  him  up  ;  that  which  is 
worth  all  is  faith  and  charity,  to  which  nothing  is  to  be  preferred.  But 
consider  those  who  are  of  a  different  opinion  from  us,  as  to  what  con- 
cerns the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  come  unto  us,  how  contrary 
they  are  to  the  design  of  God  !  They  have  no  regard  to  charity  ;  no 
care  of  the  widow,  the  fatherless,  and  the  oppressed ;  of  the  bound  or 
free,  of  the  hungry  or  thirsty. 

VII.  They  abstain  from  the  eucharist,  and  from  the  public  offices," 

'Death.  Admonish.  '  Have  so.  d  Had  true  flesh.  *  J' is.  /  Matt  xix.  1 2. 
e  Vid.  Epist.  Interpol.         *  Vid.  Annot.  Coteler.  in  loc. — Or,  prayers. 


116  ST.   IGNATIUS'fl   EPISTLE 

because  they  confess  not  the  eucharist  to  be  the  flesh  of  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  which  suffered  for  our  sins,  and  which  the  Father,  of  his 
goodness, raised  again  from  the  dead.  And  for  this  cause,  contradict- 
ing the  gift  of  God,  the\  die  in  their  disputes.  But"  much  better 
would  it  be  for  them  to  receive  '  it,  that  they  might  one  day  rise  through 
it.    It  will  therefore  become  you  to  abstain  from  socb  persons,  and  not 

to  speak  with  them,  neither  in  private,  nor  in  public;  but  to  hearken 
to  the  prophets,  and  especially  to  the  gospel,  in  which  both  (']. 

n  is  manifested  unto  us,  and  his  resurrection  perfectly  declared. 
But  flee  all  divisions  BS  tin  beginning  of  evils. 

VIII.  Sec  that  ye  all  follow  your  bishop,  as  Jesus  Christ  the  Father ; 
and  the  presbytery,  as  the  apostles;  and  reverence  the  deacons,  as  the 
command  of  God.  Let  no  man  do  any  thing  of  what  belongs  to  the 
church  separately  from  the  bishop.  Let  that  eucharist  be  looked  upon 
IS  well  established,  which  is  either  offered  by  the  bishop,  or  by  him  to 
whom  the  bishop  has  given  his  consent.  Wheresoever  the  bishop  shall 
appear,  there  let  the  people0  also  be;  as  where  Jesus  Christ  is,  there 
is  the  catholic  church.  It  is  not  lawful  without  the  bishop,  neither  to 
baptize,  nor  to  celebrate  the  holy  communion  ; d  but  whatsoever  he  shall 
approve  of,  that  is  also  pleasing  unto  God  ;  that  so  whatever  is  done 
may  be  sure  and  well  done. 

IX.  For  what  remains,  it  is  very  reasonable  that  we  should  repent,' 
whilst  there  is  yet  time  to  return  unto  God.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have 
a  due  regard  both  to  God,  and  to  the  bishop  ;  he  that  honours  the 
bishop  shall  be  honoured  of  God.  But  he  that  does  any  thing  without 
his  knowledge,  ministers7  unto  the  devil.  Let  all  things,  therefore, 
abound  to  you  in  charity ;  seeing  ye  are  worthy.  Ye  have  refreshed 
me  in  all  things  ;  so  shall  Jesus  Christ  you.  Ye  have  loved  me,  both 
when  I  was  present  with  you,  and  now,  being  absent,  ye  cease  not  to 
do  so.  May  God  be  your  reward ;  for  whom  whilst  ye  undergo  all 
things,  ye  shall  attain  unto  him. 

X.  Ye  have  done  well  in  that  ye  have  received  Philo,  and  Rheus 
Agathopus,*  who  followed  me  for"  the  word  of  God,  as  the  deacons 
of  Christ  our  God.      Who  also  gave   thanks  unto  the  Lord   for  you, 

forasmuch  as  ye  have  refreshed  them  in  all  things.1    Nor k  shall  am 

thing  that  you  have  done  be  lost  to  you.  My  soul '  be  for  yours,  and 
in\  bends,  which  ye  have  not  despised  nor  been  ashamed  of.  Where- 
fore neither  shall  .Jesus  Christ,  OUT  perfect  faith,  be  ashamed  of  vou. 

XI.  Your  prayer  is  come  to  the  church  of  Antioeh  which  is  in  Syria; 

from  whence  being  sent,  bound  with  chains,  becoming  God,  I  salute 
churches;  being  not  worthy  to  be  called  from  thence,"  as  being 

•  vkL  Dotal  Aanot        li  *MahfhmfM**       '/»< 

id  tnxml  f  D<xt  worthiji.  f  Yitl.  Voss.  Aim. >t.  in  li**.  h  I'nto.  '   H 

1  Vul.  Cpist.  Interpol  '  Sfnnt.  mJll  th>.  nut.  Thr  btthopof  that  iliurch. 


TO    THE    SMYRNA ANS.  117 

the  least  among  them.  Nevertheless,  by  the  will  of  God,  I  have  been 
thought  worthy  of  this  honour  ;  not  for  that  I  think  I  have  deserved  it, 
but  by  the  grace  of  God ;  which  I  wish  may  be  perfectly  given  unto 
me,  and  through  your  prayers  I  may  attain  unto  God.  And  therefore 
that  your  work  may  be  fully  accomplished  both  upon  earth  and  in 
heaven,  it  will  be  fitting,  and  for  the  honour  of  God,  that  your  church a 
appoint  some  worthy  delegate,  who  being  come  as  far  as  Syria,  may 
rejoice,  together  with  them,  that  they  are  in  peace  ;  and  that  they  are 
again  restored  to  their  former  state/  and  have  again  received  their 
proper  body.  Wherefore  I  should  think  it  a  worthy  action  to  send 
some  one  from  you  with  an  epistle  to  congratulate  with  them  their 
peace  in  God ;  and  that  through  your  prayers  they  have  now  gotten 
to  their  harbour.  For  inasmuch  as  ye  are  perfect  yourselves,  you 
ought  to  think  those  things  that  are  perfect.  For  when  you  are  desi- 
rous to  do  well,  God  is  ready  to  enable  you c  thereunto. 

XII.  The  love  of  the  brethren  that  are  at  Troas  salute  you ;  from 
whence  I  write  to  you  by  Burrhus,  whom  ye  sent  with  me,  together 
with  the  Ephesians,  your  brethren ;  and  who  has  in  all  things  refreshed 
me.  And  I  would  to  God  that  all  would  imitate  him,  as  being  a 
pattern  of  the  ministry  of  God.  May  his  grace  fully  reward  him !  I 
salute  your  very  worthy  bishop,  and  your  venerable  presbytery ;  and 
your  deacons,  my  fellow-servants,  and  all  of  you  in  general,  and  every 
one  in  particular,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  his  flesh  and 
blood ;  in  his  passion  and  resurrection,  both  fleshly  and  spiritually ; 
and  in  the  unity  *  of  God  with e  you.  Grace  be  with  you,  and  patience, 
for  evermore. 

XIII.  I  salute  the  families  of  my  brethren,  with  their  wives  and 
children  ;  and  the  virgins/  that  are  called  widows.  Be  strong  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Philo,  who  is  present  with  me,  salutes  you. 
I  salute  the  house  of  Tavias,  and  pray  that  it  may  be  strengthened  in 
faith  and  charity,  both  of  flesh  and  spirit.  I  salute  Alee,  my  well- 
beloved,  together^  with  the  incomparable  Daphnus,  and  Eutechnus, 
and  all  by  name.     Farewell  in  the  grace  of  God. 

To  the  Smyrnaeans  from  Troas. 

«  Vid.  Voss.  Annot.  in  loc.  b  Bulk,  greatness.  « Help  yon,  d  Vid.  Voss.  Annot. 
in  loc.  'And.  fi.  e.  The  deaconesses. — See,  for  the  reason  of  this  name,  Voss. 
Annot.  in  loc.    Add.  Coteler.  ib.        s  See  Voss.  Annot.  Ex  Epist.  Interpol. 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 

TO 

ST.  POLTGABP. 


Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Thcophorus,  to  Polycarp,  bishop  of  the 
church  which  is  at  Smyrna  ;a  their  overseer,  but  rather  himself  over- 
looked by  God  the  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  all  happiness. 

I.  Having  known  that  thy  mind  towards  God  is  fixed,  as  it  were, 
upon  an  immovable  rock,  I  exceedingly  give  thanks  that  I  have  been 
thought  worthy  to  behold  thy  blessed1,  face,  in  which  may  I  always 
rejoice  in  God.  Wherefore,  I  beseech  thee  by  the  grace  of  God,  with 
which  thou  art  clothed,  to  press  forward  in  thy  course,  and  to  exhort 
all  others,  that  they  may  be  saved.  Maintain  thy  place,  with  all  care 
both  of  flesh  and  spirit : c  make  it  thy  endeavour  to  preserve  unity,  than 
which  nothing  is  better.  Bear  with  all  men,  even  as  the  Lord  with 
thee.  Support  all  in  love,  as  also  thou  dost.  "Pray  without  ceas- 
ing :,,J  ask  more  understanding  than  what  thou  already  hast.  Be 
watchful,  having  thy  spirit  always  awake.  Speak  to  every  one  ac- 
cording as  God  shall  enable  thee.e  Bear  the  infirmities'  of  all,  as  a 
perfect  combatant.     Where  the  labour  is  great,  the  gain  is*  the  more. 

II.  If  thou  shalt  love  the  good  disciples,  what  thank  is  it  ?  But 
rather  do  thou  subject  to  thee  those  that  are  mischievous,  in  meekness. 
Every  wound  is  not  healed  with  the  same  plaster:  if  the  accessions 
of  the  disease  be  vehement,  mollify  them  with  soft  remedies:"  be  in 
all  things,  "wise  as  a  serpent,  but  harmless  as  a  dove."'  For  this 
cause  thou  art  composed  of  flesh  and  spirit,  that  thou  mayest  mollify 
those  things  that  appear  before  thj  bee.  And  asforthose  that  are  not 
seen,  piaj  to  God  that  he  would  reveal   them  unto  thee,  that  so  thou 

mays!  be  wanting  in  Doming,  but  msyst  abound  in  every  gift  The 
timet  demand  thee,  as  the  pilots  the  winds,  and  he  that  is  tossed  in  a 
tempest  the  haven  where  be  would  be,  that  thou  mayest  Attain  unto 
God.     Be  sober,  as  the  combatant  of  God;  the  crown"  proposed  to 

thee  is  immortality  and  eternal  life.  Concerning  which  thou  art  also  fully 
a  Oftht  Swfjiii  /  c  Vi.].  i  Cor.  %n.  Si,        J  /;,  oi  Uimmrt,  A 

•  Vid.  Yuss.  in  U-.  .ilit.  r  V,t.  I,;it.  lut.rpr.  -f  /'..   &MOMS.  *  Is  much.  ■  fi 

fusions.  '  Mutt.  x.  16.  k  \  id.  \\>ss.  Ainn-t.  in  loc.  Collut.  cum  t'olrlrr.  ib. 

118 


ST.    IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE   TO    ST.    POLYCARP.  119 

persuaded.     I  will  be  thy  surety  in  all  things,  and  my  bonds,  which 
thou  hast  loved. 

III.  Let  not  those  that  seem  worthy  of  credit,  but  teach  other  doc- 
trines, disturb  thee.0  Stand  firm  and  immovable  as  an  anvil  when  it 
is  beaten  upon.  It  is  the  part  of  a  brave  combatant  to  be  wounded,6 
and  yet  to  overcome.  But  especially  we  ought  to  endure  all  things 
for  God's  sake,  that  he  may  bear  with  us.  Be  every  day  better c  than 
other:  consider  the  times;  and  expect  him,  who  is  above  all  time, 
eternal,  invisible,  though  for  our  sakes  made  visible  ;  impalpable,  and 
impassible,  yet  for  us  subjected  to  sufferings,  enduring  all  manner  of 
ways  for  our  salvation. 

IV.  Let  not  the  widows  be  neglected :  be  thou,  after  God,  their 
guardian.  Let  nothing  be  done  without  thy  knowledge  and  consent : 
neither  do  thou  any  thing  but  according  to  the  will  of  God  :  as  also 
thou  dost,  with  all  constancy."  Let  your  assemblies  be  more  full : 
inquire  into  all  by  name.  Overlook  not  the  men  and  maid-servants  : 
neither  let  them  be  puffed  up ;  but  rather  let  them  be  the  more  subject, 
— to  the  glory  of  God,  that  they  may  obtain  from  him  a  better  liberty. 
Let  them  not  desire  to  bee  set  free  at  the  public  cost,  that  they  be  not 
slaves  to  their  own  lusts. 

V.  Flee  evil  arts/  or  rather,  make  not  any  mention  of  them.  Say 
to  my  sisters  that  they  love  the  Lord ;  and  be  satisfied  with  their  own 
husbands,  both  in  the  flesh  and  spirit.  In  like  manner,  exhort  my 
brethren,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  they  love  their  wives,  even 
as  the  Lord  the  church.  If  any  man  can  remain  in  a  virgin  state,  to  s 
the  honour  of»  the  flesh  of  Christ,  let  him  remain  without  boasting ; 
but  if  he  boast,  he  is  undone.  And  if  he  desire  to  be  more  taken 
notice  of  than  the  bishop,  he  is  corrupted.  But  it  becomes  all  such 
as  are  married,  whether  men  or  women,  to  come  together  with  the 
consent  of  the  bishop,  that  so  their  marriage  may  be  according  to  god- 
liness, and  not  in  lust.     Let  all  things  be  done  to  the  honour  of  God. 

VI.  Hearken  unto  the  bishop,"  that  God  also  may  hearken  unto  you. 
My  soul  be  security  for  them  that  submit  to  their  bishop,  with  their 
presbyters,  and  deacons.  And  may  my  portion  be  together  with  theirs 
in  God.  Labour  with  one  another;  contend  together,  run  together, 
suffer  together,  sleep  together,  and  rise  together ;  as  the  stewards,  and 
assessors,  and  ministers  of  God.  Please  him  under  whom  ye  war,  and 
from  whom  ye  receive  your  wages.  Let  none  of  you  be  found  a  de- 
serter ;  but  let  your  baptism  remain  as  your  arms — your  faith  as  your 
helmet — your  charity  as  your  spear — your  patience  as   your  whole 

a  Amaze  thee.  h  Beaten.  e  More  studious,    diligent.  d  Being   well  settled. 

c  Vid.  Annot.  Coteler.  in  loc.         /  Or,  trades.  *  Vid.  Annot.  Vossii  et  Coteler.  in  loc 

h  Observe,  from  the  foregoing  section,  that  Ignatius  here  speaks  not  to  Polycarp,  but 
through  him  to  the  church  of  Smyrna. 


120  ST.    IGNATIUS'S    EPISTLE    TO    ST.    POLYCARP. 

armour.  Let  your  works  be  your  charge,"  that  so  you  may  receive  a 
suitable  reward.  Be  long-suffering,  therefore,  towards  each  other  in 
meekness,  as  God  is  towards  you.  Let  me  have  joy  of  you  in  all 
things. 

\  II.  Now  forasmucli  as  the  church  of  Antioch  in  Syria  is,  as  I  am 
told,"  in  peace  through  your  prayers,  I  also  have  been  the  more  com- 
forted, and  without  care  in  Godc — if  so  be  that  by  suffering  I  shall 
attain  unto  God,  that,  through  your  prayers,  I  may  be  found  a  disciple 
of  Christ.  It  will  be  very  fit,  O  most  holy  Polycarp,  to  call  a  select 
council,*1  and  choose  some  one  whom  ye  particularly  love,  and  who  is 
patient  of  labour,  that  he  may  be  the  messenger  of  God  ;  and  that 
going  unto  Syria,  he  may  glorify  your  incessant  love,  to  the  praise  of 
Christ.  A  Christian  has  not  the  power  of  himself,  but  must  always 
be  at  leisure  for  God's  service.  Now  this  work  is  both  God's  and 
yours,  when  ye  shall  have  perfected  it.  For  I  trust,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  that  ye  are  ready  to  every  good  work  that  is  fitting  for  you  in 
the  Lord.  Knowing  therefore  your  earnest  affection  to  the  truth,  I 
have  exhorted  you  by  these  short  letters/ 

VIII.  But  forasmuch  as  I  have  not  been  able  to  write  to  all  the 
churches,  because  I  must  suddenly  sail  from  Troas  to  Neapolis — (for 
so  is  the  command  of  those  to  whose  pleasure  I  am  subject) — do  you 
write  to  the  churches  that  are  near  you,  as  being  instructed  in  the  will 
of  God,  that  they  also  may  do  in  like  manner.  Let  those  that  are  able 
send  messengers/  and  let  the  rest  send  their  letters  by  those  who  shall 
be  sent  by  you ;  that  you  may  be  glorified  to  all  eternity, *  of  which 
you  are  worthy.  I  salute  all  by  name,  particularly  the  wife  of  Epi- 
tropuSj  with  all  her  house  and  children.  I  salute  Attalus,  my  well- 
beloved.  I  salute  him  who  shall  be  thought  worthy  to  be  sent  by  you 
into  Syria.  Let  grace  be  ever  with  him, and  with  Polycarp,  who  sends 
him."  I  wish  you  all  happiness  in  our  God,  Jesus  Christ;  in  whom 
continue,  in  the  unity  and  protection  of  God.  I  salute  Alee,  my  well- 
beloved.     Farewell  in  the  Lord. 

To  Polycarp. 

« That  which  it  eommittt  d  to  yarn  cwCody  to  hup  ncwr.      *  //  hat  been  manit< 
in  ti  ■  Qod.        *M  '  '  \  i/.  To  the  BmjniMiM,  and  this 

to  him*  It'.     SeePeanon  inloe.         f  Footmen,        fVid*VoM.  in  loc.    In  tin. 

*El    V.t.  Intcrpr.    Yul.  VOMM,  Aiuiot. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 

OF  THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS,  AND  OF  THE  FOLLOWING 
RELATION  OF  IT,  WRITTEN  BY  THOSE  WHO  WERE  PRESENT  AT  HIS 
SUFFERINGS. 

Of  the  life  of  St.  Ignatius — Whence  he  was  called  Thcophorus — That  he  never  saw 
Christ,  but  was  converted  to  Christianity  by  the  apostles ;  and  by  them  made  bishop 
of  Antioch — How  he  behaved  himself  in  that  station — Of  his  death — Why  he  was 
sent  from  Antioch  to  Rome,  in  order  to  his  suffering  there — Metaphrastes's  account  of 
the  effect  which  his  death  wrought  upon  the  emperor  Trajan,  rejected — How  the  per- 
secution of  the  Christians  came  to  be  mitigated  about  the  time  that  he  suffered — An 
inquiry  into  the  time  of  his  martyrdom. 

1.  In  the  foregoing  chapter  I  have  given  such  an  account  of  the 
epistles  of  St.  Ignatius  as  seemed  necessary  to  vindicate  the  authority 
of  them,  and  to  remove  those  prejudices  which  some  had  of  late  en- 
deavoured to  raise  against  them.  I  am  now  to  pass  from  the  writings 
of  this  holy  man,  to  his  truly  great  and  heroical  sufferings:  an  account 
whereof  is  in  the  next  place  subjoined,  in  the  relation  of  those  who 
accompanied  him  from  Antioch  to  Rome,  and  were  the  eye-witnesses 
of  his  martyrdom. 

2.  But  before  I  come  to  the  consideration  of  this  last  and  noblest 
part  of  his  life,  I  cannot  but  think  it  will  be  expected  from  me  to  give 
some  account  of  the  foregoing  passages  of  it ;  that  so  we  may  have  at 
once  a  full  view  of  this  great  saint,  and  perceive  by  what  steps  he 
prepared  himself  for  so  constant  and  glorious  a  death. 

3.  And  here  it  will  be  necessary  for  me,  in  the  first  place,  to  con- 
sider the  character  which  he  gives  of  himself  in  the  beginning  of  all 
his  epistles,  and  which  he  freely  asserted  before  the a  emperor  himself, 
at  his  examination ;  namely,  that  of  Theophorus.  Now  this,  accord- 
ing to  the  different  pronunciation  of  it,  may  be  expounded  after  a  dif- 
ferent manner ;  and  signify  either  a  person  carried  by  God,  or  else  a 
divine  person  ;  one  who  carries  God  in  his  breast.  And  in  both  these 
significations  we  find  this  name  to  have  been  given  to  this  holy 
man. 

4.  For,  first,  as  to  the  former  signification,  we  are  told,  by  some  of 
the  writers  of  his  life,  that  St.  Ignatius  was  the  child  whom  our  blessed 
Saviour  took  in  his  arms,  and  set  before  his  disciples  as  a  pattern  of 
humility,  when  he  told  them  that  "  unless  they  should  be  converted, 
and  become  as  little  children,  they  should  in  no  wise  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;" b  and  that  from  thence  he  took  the  name  of  Theo- 
phorus, one  who  was  borne,  or  carried  by  God.     And  thus  not  only 

a  Acts  of  Ignatius,  num.  iv.  v.  b  Matt,  xviii.  3. 

16  L  "I 


122  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

Metaphrastes"  and  Nicephorusb  among  the  Greeks,  but,  as  our  learned 
Bishop  Usher c  tells  us,  "  some  Syriac  writers,  more  ancient  than  they, 
both  interpret  this  name,  and  give  an  account  of  its  being  attributed  to 
this  blessed  martyr." 

5.  But,  as  stories  of  this  kind  seldom  lose  in  the  relation,  so  we  find 
the  Latins'1  making  a  farther  improvement  of  the  present  fable.  For 
having  confirmed  the  truth  of  what  these  men  had  before  observed, 
of  Ignatius  being  taken  up  by  our  Saviour  into  his  arms;  they  add, 
that  for  this  reason  the  apostles,  when  they  made  him  bishop  of 
Antioch,  durst  not  lay  their  fiands  upon  him,  "  he  having  been  before 
both  commended  by  our  Saviour  Christ,  and  sanctified  by  his  touching 
of  him." 

6.  There  is  so  much  of  romance  in  all  the  latter  part  of  this  story, 
and  so  little  grounds  for  the  former,  that  I  shall  not  need  to  spend  any 
time  in  the  confuting  of  either.  It  is  enough  that  St.  Chrysostom'  has 
assured  us,  that  this  holy  man  never  saw  the  Lord,  and  that  all  the 
other  ancient  writers  are  silent  as  to  this  particular,  which  makes  me 
the  rather  wonder  at  the  endeavour  of  a  late  learned  writer7  of  our 
own  country  to  give  countenance  to  such  a  fable  ;  which,  if  not  des- 
titute of  all  probability,  yet  at  least  wants  any  good  authority  to  sup- 
port it ;  and  as  our  learned  Bishop  Pearson  *  very  reasonably  conjec- 
tures, was  first  started  about  the  time  of  the  eighth  general  council,  by 

irty  of  that  Ignatius  who  was  then  set  up  in  opposition  to  Photius; 
and  from  thence  derived  both  to  Anastasius  among  the  Latins,  and  to 
Metaphrastes  among  the  Greeks. 

7.  To  pass  then  from  this  fabulous  account  of  this  title,  let  us  come  to 
the  consideration  of  the  true  import  of  it.     Now,  for  that  as  we  cannot 

any  better,  so  neither  need  we  desire  any  other  account  Uian 
what  this  holy  man"  himself  gave  the  emperor  of  that  name.  When 
being  asked  by  him,  «  Who  was  Theophorus  ?"  he  replied,  "  He  who 
has  Christ  in  his  breast."  And  in  this  sense  was  this  name  commonly 
used  among  the  ancients  ;  as  has  been  shown,  in  a  multitude  of  ex- 
amples, b)  Bishop  Pearson,1  in  his  elaborate  vindication  of  Ignatius's 
i  pistles.  I  shall  offer  only  one  of  them,  that  of  St.  Cyril,  who  anathe- 
a  ho  .should  call  our  Saviour  Christ,  Theophorus  ;  "lest," 
he,  ki  he  should  thereby  be  understood  to  have  been  no  other  than 
one  of  the  saints." 

8.  It    remains,  then,  that   Ignatius  was   called   Theophorus,  for  the 

-.tine  reason  that  any  other  divine  or  excellent  person  might  nave  been 


i  \i,  t iphn  L    >i'U<l  Cotalar.   p.  991.  N    eph.   Skk    Bed   iit>.   n.   can.   86* 

i  ma,  Amiot.  in  Act  M.irt.  [gnat  Dam.  hr.        d  \  ia  \nnot  in  ConciL  (Ectun.  ^m. 

Concil.  Lab.  torn,  nil  p.  994.  M.  'Hotml  in  B.  [gnat  torn.  L     Perardent  p.  199, 

■    i:.c.  ■  M,.i,i ;, .  <  i  i  ■;,,.  i:,v|i  -  loin.  ii.  i-.  8] !.  SIS.        »  Viu.l.  [gnat  part  ii. 

i.  p,  i  i'.t.        i  \  .-..  num.  v.        i  .  part  ii.  p.  l ; '.. 


OF    THE    MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.  IGNATIUS.  123 

so  called ;  namely,  upon  the  account  of  his  admirable  piety;  because 
his  soul  was  full  of  the  love  of  God,  and  sanctified  with  an  extraordi- 
nary portion  of  the  Divine  grace  ;  as  both  his  life  showed,  and  the 
earnest  desire  he  had  to  be  dissolved,  and  to  be  with  Christ,  and  his 
joy  when  he  saw  himself  approaching  towards  it ;  and  (to  mention  no 
more)  his  constancy  in  his  last  and  most  terrible  conflict  with  the  wild 
beasts,  will  not  suffer  us  to  doubt. 

9.  But  though  the  story  of  our  Saviour's  taking  St.  Ignatius  into 
his  arms  be  of  no  credit,  yet  thus  much  St.  Chrysostom  tells a  us,  that 
he  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  holy  apostles,  and  instructed  by 
them  in  the  full  knowledge  of  all  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel.  What 
was  the  country  that  gave  birth  to  this  blessed  saint,  or  who  his  parents 
were,  we  cannot  tell.  Indeed,  as  to  the  former  of  these,  his  country, 
a  late  author6  has  endeavoured,  from  a  passage  in  Abulfaragius,  set 
out  by  our  incomparable  Dr.  Pococke,  to  fix  it  at  Nora  in  Sardinia ;  a 
place  which  still  retains  its  ancient  name  with  very  little  variation. 
This  is  certain,  that  growing  eminent  both  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,  and  in  a  life  exactly  framed  according  to  the  strictest 
rules  of  it,  he  was,  upon  the  death  of  Euodius,  chosen  by  the  apostles  that 
were  still  living,  to  be  bishop  of  Antioch,  the  metropolis  of  Syria  ;  and, 
whatever  Anastasius  pretends,0  received  imposition  of  hands  from  them. 

10.  How  he  behaved  himself  in  this  great  station,  though  we  have 
no  particular  account  left  to  us,  yet  we  may  easily  conclude  from  that 
short  hint  that  is  given  us  of  it,  in  the  relation  of  his  martyrdom, * 
where  we  are  told  that  he  was  "  a  man  in  all  things  like  unto  the 
apostles ;  that  as  a  good  governor,  by  the  helm  of  prayer  and  fasting, 
by  the  constancy  of  his  doctrine  and  spiritual  labour,  he  opposed  him- 
self to  the  floods  of  the  adversary ;  that  he  was  like  a  divine  lamp 
illuminating  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  by  his  exposition  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures ;  and  lastly,  that  to  preserve  his  church,  he  doubted  not 
freely,  and  of  his  own  accord,  to  expose  himself  to  the  most  bitter 
death."  This  is  in  general  the  character  of  his  behaviour  in  his  church 
of  Antioch  ;  a  greater  than  which  can  hardly  be  given  to  any  man. 
Nor  indeed  can  we  doubt  but  that  he,  who,  as  Eusebius e  tells  us,  and 
as  his  epistles  still  remaining  abundantly  testify,  was  so  careful  of  all 
the  other  churches,  to  confirm  them  in  a  sound  faith,  and  in  a  constant 
adherence  to  their  holy  religion,  was  certainly  much  more  vigilant  to 
promote  the  interests  of  piety  within  his  own  diocese,  which  was  blessed 
with  his  government  above  forty  years/ 

a  Homil.  in  Ignat.  p.  499,  torn.  i.  Fevardent.  b  Ernest.  Tentzel.  Exercit.  Select,  iii. 

num.  ii.  p.  47.     Comp.  Dr.  Grabe's  Spicilcg.  torn.  ii.  p.  1.  c  Vid.  Chrysost.  Orat.  in 

Laud.  Ignat.  Theodoret.  torn.  iv.  p.  33,  Dial.  1.  Comp.  Usser.  Annot.  in  Epist.  ad 
Antioch.  p.  107.     Pearson.  Vind.  Ignat.  part  ii.  p.  107.  d  Acts  of  Ignat.  num.  i.  ii. 

iii.  'Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  cap.  36.  /Euseb.  Chron.  ab  anno  69 ad  110,  alii  ad  116. 
Vid  infra. 


124  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

11.  Hence  we  may  observe  whs!  b  tender  concern  he  expresses  in 
all  his  epistles  for  his  church  at  Antioch;  with  what  affection  he  re- 
commends it  to  the  pray<  ra  of  those  to  whom  he  wrote  ;  and  especially 
to  the  care  of  his  dear  friend  and  fellow-disciple,  St  Polycarp.  And 
when  he  heard  at  Troas  of  the  ceasing  of  the  persecution  there,  how 
did  be  rejoice  at  it,  and  require  all  the  neighbouring  churches  to  rejoice 
with  him  ;  and  to  send  1 1  n  ir  messengers  and  letters  thither,  to  congra- 
tulate with  them  upon  that  account ! a 

J -J.  Suck  was  hifl  affection  towards  his  own  church,  and  his  care 
of  all  the  others  round  ahout  him  ;  by  both  of  which  he  became  in 
such  an  extraordinary  favour  with  them,  that  they  thought  nothing 
could  be  sufficient  to  express  their  respect  towards  him.  And  there- 
fore we  are  told,  that  when  lie  was  carried  from  Antioch  to  Rome,  in 
order  to  his  suffering,  all  the  churches  everywhere  sent  messengers6 
on  his  way  to  attend  him,  and  to  communicate  to  his  wants.  And 
what  is  yet  more,  they  were  generally  their  bishops  themselves  that 
came  to  meet  him,  and  thought  it  a  singular  happiness  to  receive  some 
spiritual  exhortations  from  him.  And  when  he  was  dead,  they  paid 
such  an  honour  to  his  memory,  as  to  account  the  few  bones c  that  were 
left  of  him  by  the  wild  beasts,  more  precious  than  the  richest  jewels : 
insomuch  that  we  are  told  they  were  several d  ages  after  taken  up  from 
the  place  where  they  were  first  deposited,  as  not  honourable  enough 
for  them  to  lie  in,  and  that  being  brought  within  the  city  where  he 
once  was  bishop,  there  was  instituted  a  yearly  festival  in  memory  of 
him. 

13.  As  for  what  concerns  the  circumstances  of  his  death,  they  are 
so  particularly  recounted  in  the  relation  I  have  here  subjoined  of  it, 
that  nothing  more  needs  to  be  added  to  what  is  there  delivered  of  this 
matter.  Yet  one  remark  I  cannot  but  make  on  that  particular  of  his 
story  which  has  puzzled  so  many  learned  men  f  to  account  for,  but 
may  easily  be  revolved,  and  I  believe  most  truly  too,  into  the  over- 
ruling hand  of  the  Divine  Providence  ;  and  that  is,  of  the  sending  of 
this  holy  man  from  Antioch  as  far  as  Rome  to  suffer.  For  whatever 
the  desiga  <'t"  'he  emperor'  may  have  been  in  it,  whether  he  intended 

to    increase    his    Bufferings   by  a   journey  so   wearisome,   and   attended 

with  so  many  bitter  circumstances,  as  that  must  needs  have  been  to  a 
n  very  probablyj  at  that  time,  fourscore  years  of  sge;  or  whether 

lie  hoped  by  tins  means  to  have  overcome  his  constancy)  anil  to  have 

drawn  him  awav  from  Ins  faith  ;  <»r  lastly,  whether,  as  Metaphrastes* 


°  s,c  hii  Bpiftlei  \>>  the  Phfladalp,  Bmyra.  and  t.»  st.  Fotjcnp         Mi 

Bpiflt  «t  s[M-ci;itiiii  ad  Rom.    num.    i\.      Aiiil.  Act  1 1:  i  i;it.  until.  i\.  f  Vi<l.  Art.    [gnat 

num.  xiii.  rf  Vi<l.  !'->crii  Ann.  in  An.  [gn  it  nun.  wwii.  '  \  id.  Scalig.  m  I 

ad  Ann.  110.  /  Vid.  I  HOT.   Not  in  A.  t.  {gnat,  num.  i\.   |>.  :i'.t.  In.      'IYut/i  1.    E 

iii.  p.  49.         f  Matt.  anml  <  'otrlcr. 


OF  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.  IGNATIUS.  125 

tells  us,  upon  his  consulting  with  those  of  the  senate  who  were  with 
him,  he  was  advised  "  not  to  let  him  suffer  at  Antioch,  lest  thereby  he 
should  raise  his  esteem  the  more  among  the  people,  and  render  him 
still  more  dear  and  desirable  to  them;"  we  cannot  doubt  but  that 
God  hereby  designed  to  present  to  all  the  nations  through  which  he 
was  to  pass,  a  glorious  instance  of  the  power  of  his  religion,  that  could 
enable  this  blessed  martyr  with  so  much  constancy  to  despise  all  the 
violence  of  his  enemies,  and  to  be  impatient  after  those  trials  which 
they  hoped  should  have  affrighted  him  into  a  base  and  degenerous 
compliance  with  their  desires. 

14.  This  was  indeed  a  triumph  worthy  of  the  Christian  religion : 
nor  was  it  any  small  advantage  to  the  churches  at  such  a  critical  time, 
to  have  their  zeal  awakened,  and  their  courage  confirmed,  both  by  the 
example  and  exhortations  of  this  great  man,  from  Antioch  even  to 
Rome  itself.  And  we  are  accordingly  told  with  what  mighty  comfort 
and  satisfaction  they  received  his  instructions,  and,  as  the  authors0  of 
his  acts  express  it,  «  rejoiced  to  partake  in  his  spiritual  gift." 

15.  Nay,  but  if  we  may  believe  Metaphrastes  as  to  the  effect  which 
the  sufferings  of  this  holy  man  had  upon  the  mind  of  the  emperor,  the 
church  received  yet  greater  benefit  by  his  death;  "For  Trajan,"11 
says  he,  "  hearing  of  what  had  been  done  to  Ignatius,  and  how  un- 
dauntedly he  had  undergone  the  sentence  that  was  pronounced  against 
him ;  and  being  informed  that  the  Christians  were  a  sort  of  men  that 
did  nothing  contrary  to  the  laws,  nor  were  guilty  of  any  impieties,  but 
worshipped  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  exercised  all  temperance 
both  in  meat  and  drink,  nor  meddled  with  any  thing  that  was  forbid- 
den ;  he  began  to  repent  of  what  he  had  done,  and  commanded  that 
the  Christians  should  indeed  be  searched  out,  but  that,  being  dis- 
covered, they  should  not  be  put  to  death ;  bnly  they  should  not  be 
admitted  into  any  offices,  nor  be  suffered  to  meddle  with  any  public 
employs.  Thus  was  not  only  the  life  of  Ignatius  of  great  use  to  the 
church,  but  his  very  death  the  means  of  procuring  much  good  to  it." 
And  what  Metaphrastes  here  tells  us,  we  find  in  effect  delivered  by 
another  author0  of  his  acts,  not  yet  set  forth  ;  from  whom  he  seems  to 
have  taken  his  story,  only  with  the  addition  of  some  farther  circum- 
stances of  his  own,  to  make  it  the  more  complete. 

16.  But  though  I  should  be  far  from  envying  any  thing  that  might 
make  for  the  honour  of  this  blessed  martyr,  yet  are  there  many  circum- 
stances in  the  story  which  Metaphrastes  has  here  put  together,  that 
makes  me  justly  call  in  question  the  truth  of  it.  For  first,  it  is  evi- 
dent, beyond  all  doubt,  that  the  persecution  was  abated  at  Antioch 

aActs  of  Ignat.  num.  ix.  'Mart.  Ignat.  apud  Coteler.  p.  1002.  *  Vid.  Usser. 

Annot.  in  Act.  Ignat  pp.  55,  56. 

L  2 


126  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

before  Ignatius  suffered,  nay,  before  he  was  yet  gone  out  of  the  Lesser 
Asia.  Insomuch,  that  in  his  three  last  epistles  which  he  wrote  from 
Troas  to  the  Philadelphians,  the  Smyrnaeans,  and  to  Polycarp  himself, 
he  particularly  takes  notice  of  the  peace  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  and 
exhorts  them  to  send  congratulatory  messages  thither  upon  the  account 
of  it. 

17.  Nor  was  this  suspension  of  the  persecution  granted  upon  Igna- 
tius's  account,  but  upon  the  remonstrances  which  the  emperor's  own 
officers  made  to  him,  both  of  the  numbers  of  those  that  died  for  the 
Christian  faith,  and  of  the  innocency  of  their  lives ;  and  lastly,  of  the 
readiness  with  which  they  not  only  suffered  when  taken,  but  volun- 
tarily came  and  presented  themselves  before  those  who  were  to  con- 
demn them.  Two  of  these  epistles,  relating  to  this  very  persecution, 
we  have  still  remaining ;  the  one  written  by  Tiberianus,"  president  of 
Pala^stina  Prima  ;  the  other  of  Pliny  the  younger,1  pro-praetor  of  Bithy- 
nia  :  and  the  answer  of  Trajan0  to  the  latter,  of  which  we  find  to  have 
been  in  the  same  words  that  Jo.  Malela  tells  us  he  replied  to  the  other ; 
viz.,  "That  the  Christians  should  not  be  sought  after;  but  if  they 
were  brought  before  them  and  convicted,  should  be  punished  unless 
they  abjured." 

18.  The  same  is  the  account  which  not  only  *  Eusebius,  from  Ter- 
tullian,'  gives  us  of  the  emperor's  order  as  to  this  matter  ;  but  which 
Suidas/  after  both,  has  left  us  of  it :  which  makes  it  the  more  strange 
to  find  such  a  different  relation  both  in  Bishop  Usher's  manuscript 
author,  and  in  Metaphrastes's  Acts  of  Ignatius  before  mentioned.  It 
is  true  that,  notwithstanding  these  rescripts  of  the  emperor,  the  perse- 
cution still  continued  ;  nor  was  it  so  soon  over  in  other  places  as  it  was 
at  Aufioch.  This  is  not  only  evident  from  the  history  of  this  time  left 
us  by  Eusebius/  but  may  in  general  be  concluded  from  the  prayer" 
which  this  holy  saint  made  at  his  martyrdom  ;  where,  say  our  acts, 
"  He  entreated  the  Son  of  God  in  behalf  of  the  churches,  that  he 
would  put  a  stop  to  the  persecution,  and  restore  peace  and  quiet  to 
them."  But  these  were  only  local  persecutions,  as  Eusebius*  calls 
them  :  and  proceeded  rather  from  the  fury  of  the  people,  and  th< 
versenesi  of  some  particular  governors,  than  from  the  design  or  com- 
mand of  the  emperor. 

l!>.  As  to  the  time  of  [guatius's  suffering,  we  are  only  told,  in  his 

that    it   was   when  Syria1   and    Senecius    were    consuls;   nor  are 

learned   men  yet  agreed  in  what  year  to  tix  it.     Eusebius,  in  his 
Chronicle,  places  it  in  the  year  of  Christ  IK';  Marianua  Septus,  112; 

<•  Apod  Umn.  Annot  in  Epkt  id  Pbiledelpb.  not  BS.  Bl  m  Append.  p.S.  kPlnv 
Been.   Bpwt  lib.  t,  epi  ■IbfcL  Bpi  'Hbt  Boole*  lb.  in. 

•  Apologetcan.it  fU\^  rLib.  hi.  r.  32.  Hist.  Eedes.         "Acta 

Miit.Ijn.it.   mini.  xii.  'Easeb.   EbU.  M>r.  Sura. 


OF   THE    MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS.  127 

Bishop  Usher0  yet  sooner,  in  the  year  107.  And  lastly,  to  name  no 
more,  our  most  exact  Bishop  Lloyd,6  followed  therein  by  the  late 
critique  upon  Baronius,  Antonius  Pagi,  yet  later  than  any ;  to  wit,  in  ( 
the  year  that  the  great  earthquake  fell  out  at  Antioch,  and  from  which 
Trajan  himself  hardly  escaped;  which,  as  Jo.  Malelac  accounts  it, 
and  is  followed  therein  by  Bishop  Usher  in  his  computation,  was  in  the 
year  116. 

20.  And  this  may  suffice  to  have  been  observed  concerning  the  most 
eminent  passages  that  occur  in  the  Acts  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Igna- 
tius. I  shall  need  say  nothing  to  the  authority  of  the  relation  itself; 
which,  as  it  is  written  with  all  sincerity,  and  void  of  those  additions 
which  later  writers  have  made  to  these  kind  of  histories,  so  we  are  told, 
in  the  close  of  it,  that  it  was  compiled  by  those  who  went  with  him  from 
Antioch,  and  were  the  eye-witnesses  of  his  encounters.  That  the  latter 
part  of  these  acts  was  added  to  the  original  account  of  the  martyrdom  of 
this  holy  man,  the  learned  Dr.  Grabe  has  proved  to  be  at  least  probable  ; 
but  this  does  not  at  all  affect  the  other  parts  of  them,  which  the  same 
judicious  writer  receives  as  true  and  authentic.  These  acts  were  first 
published  from  two  very  ancient  manuscripts,  by  our  most  reverend 
Archbishop  Usher,  in  his  appendix  to  his  edition  of  Ignatius,  anno  1647. 
They  have  since  been  printed  in  their  original  Greek,  by  a  very  learned 
man  abroad ;  and  reprinted  by  Dr.  Grabe,  in  his  Spicilegium,  here  in 
England.  From  this  last  edition  thev  are  now  translated  into  our  own 
language.  I  cannot  tell  whether  it  be  worth  the  observing,  that  in  the 
collection  made  by  the  late  learned  Cotelerius  of  the  writings  of  the 
apostolical  Fathers,  instead  of  these  genuine  acts,  there  is  inserted  the 
account  which  Metaphrastes  put  together  of  his  sufferings,  several  ages 
after.  It  would  perhaps  have  made  a  more  agreeable  history  to  the 
vulgar  reader,  had  I  translated  that  relation,  rather  than  this,  which  is 
much  shorter,  and  wants  many  notable  passages  that  are  to  be  found 
in  that  other.  But,  as  I  should  then  have  departed  from  my  design 
of  setting  out  nothing  but  what  I  thought  to  be  indeed  of  apostolical 
antiquity,  so,  to  those  who  love  the  naked  truth,  these  plain  acts  will 
be  much  more  satisfactory  than  a  relation  filled  up  with  the  uncertain, 
and  too  often  fabulous  circumstances  of  later  ages. 

*Annot.  in  Act.  Martyr.  Ignat.  not.  39.  *Vid.  Ant.  Pagi.  Critic,  in  Baron,  ad 

Ann.  108.  •  Apud  Usser.  loc.  supr.  cit.    Comp.  the  Dissert,  of  Bishop  Pearson  in 

the  late  edition  of  his  Epistles  at  Oxford. 


A  RELATION 


MAETYRDOM  OF  ST.  IGXATHS. 


Translated  from  tlu  original  (Jr>>k,  published  by  Dr.  Grabc,  in  his  8picileg.  Patrum, 

torn.  ii. 


I.  When  Trajan,  not  long  since,  came  to  the  Roman  empire,  Igna- 
tius, the  disciple  of  St.  John  the  apostle,  [and  evangelist0,]  a  man  in 
all  things  like  unto  the  apostles,*  governed  the  church  of  Antioch  with 
all  care ;  who  being  scarcely  able  to  escape  the  storms  of  the  many 
persecutions  before  under  Domitian,  as  a  good  governor,  by  the  helm 
of  prayer  and  fasting,  by  the  constancy  of  his  doctrine  and  spiritual 
labour,0  withstood  the  raging  floods;  fearing  lest  they  should  sink 
those  who  either  wanted  courage,  or  were  not  well  grounded d  in  the 
faith. 

II.  Wherefore  the  persecution  being  at  present  somewhat  abated,  he 
rejoiced  greatly  at  the  tranquillity  of  his  church  ;  yet  was  troubled  as 
to  himself,  that  he  had  not  attained  to  a  true  love  of  Christ,  nor  was 
come  up  to  the  pitch  ■  of  a  perfect  disciple :  for  he  thought  that  the 
confession  which  is  made  by  martyrdom,  would  bring  him  to  a  yet 
more  close  and  intimate  union  with  the  Lord/  Wherefore  continuing 
a  few  years  longer  with  the  church,  and  after  the  manner  of  a  divine 
lamp*  illuminating  the  hearts  of  the  faithful"  by  the  exposition  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  he  attained  to  what  he  had  desired. 

III.  For  Trajan,  in  the  nineteenth  year1  of  his  empire,  being  lifted 
up  with  his  victory  over  the  Scythians  and  Dacians,  and  many  other 
nations,  and  thinking  that  the  religious  company  of  Christians  WM  y •• 
wanting  to  his  absolute  and  universal  dominion,  and  thereupon  threat- 
ening them  that  they  should  be  penecnted,  unless  they  would  choose 

to  Worship  the  devil,  with  all  other  nations,  tear  obliged  all  such  as  li\i 
religiously  either  to  sacrifice,  or  to  die.  Wherefore  our  brave*  soldier 
of  Christ,  being  in  fell  fol  the  church  of  Antioch,  was  voluntarily 
brought  before  Trajan,  who  was  at  that  time  then",  on  his  way  to 
Armenia,  and  the  Parthians,  against  whom  he  was  hastening. 

1 ■     " 

a  D.'suiit.— <ir.        *jSpo$tohcaL        >Gompm  Qm  Cotton  M-s.       'Jf*J 

In  MS.   Cotton,     inftrminii. — (Jr.    iufmm  '  Ortler.  f  More    to  a  farmluv  U ;, 

Lord.        t  Camdk.  >y  mans  hurt.  •  Sec  Hi-!.  Dioi 

if  the  yeu  of  Bt  [gnoftnufi  Martyrdom,  p.  61.         '  M inly. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.  IGNATIUS.  129 

IV.  Being  come  into  the  presence  of  the  emperor  Trajan,  the  em- 
peror asked  him,  saying,  "  What  a  wicked  wretch"  art  thou,  thus  to 
endeavour"  to  transgress  our  commands,  and  to  persuade  others  also 
to  do  likewise,  to  their  destruction?"0  Ignatius  answered,  "No  one 
ought  to  call  Theophorus  after  such  a  manner;'*  forasmuch  as  all 
wicked  spirits  are  departed  far  from  the  servants  of  God.  But.  if, 
because  I  am  a  trouble  to  those  evil  spirits,  you  call  me  wicked,  with 
reference  to  them  I  confess  the  charge  ;  for  having  [within  me]e 
Christ,  the  heavenly  king,  I  dissolve  all  the  snares  of  the  devils. "/ 

V.  Trajan  replied,  »  And  who  is  Theophorus  ?" — Ignatius.  "  He 
who  has  Christ  in  his  breast." — Trajan.  "  And  do  not  we  then  seem 
to  thee  to  have  the  gods  within  us,*  who  fight  for  us  against  our  ene- 
mies ?" — Ignat.  "  You  err,  in  that  you  call  the  evil  spirits  of  the 
heathens,  gods.  For  there  is  but  one  God,  who  made  heaven  and 
earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them  ;  and  one  Jesus  Christ,  his 
only  begotten  Son,  whose  kingdom  may  I  enjoy." 

VI.  Trajan.  "  His  kingdom  you  say*  who  was  crucified  under 
Pontius  Pilate." — Ignat.  "  His  who  crucified  my  sin,  with  the  in- 
ventor of  it ;  and  has  put  all  the  deceit  and  malice  of  the  devil  under 
the  feet  of  those  who  carry  him  in  their  heart." — Trajan.  "  Dost 
thou  then  carry  him  who  was  crucified  within  thee  ?" — Ignat.  "  I  do  : 
for  it  is  wTritten,  <  I  will  dwell  in  them  and  walk  in  them.'  "  ; — Then 
Trajan  pronounced  this  sentence  against  him  :  "  Forasmuch  as  Igna- 
tius has  confessed  that  he  carries  about  within  himself  Him  that  was 
crucified,  we  command  that  he  be  carried,  bound  by  soldiers,  to  the 
great  Rome,  there  to  be  thrown  to  the  beasts,  for  the  entertainment"  of 
the  people." 

VII.  When  the  holy  martyr  heard  this  sentence,  he  cried  out  with 
joy,  "  I  thank  thee,  0  Lord,  that  thou  hast  vouchsafed  to  honour  me 
with  a  perfect  love  towards  thee  ;  and  hast  made  me  to  be  put  into 
iron  bonds  with  thy  apostle  Paul."  Having  said  this,  he  with  joy  put 
his  bonds  about  him ;  and  having  first  prayed  for  the  church,  and  com- 
mended it  with  tears  unto  the  Lord,  he  was  hurried  away,  like  a  choice 
ram,  the  leader  of  a  good  flock,  by  the  brutish  soldiers,  in  order  to 
his  being  carried  to  Rome,  there  to  be  devoured  by  the  bloodthirsty 
beasts. 

VIII.  Wherefore  with  much  readiness  and  joy,  out  of  his  desire  to 
suffer,  he  left  Antioch,  and  came  to  Seleucia ;  from  whence  he  was  to 
sail.     And  after  a  great  deal  of  toil,  being  come  to  Smyrna,  he  left  the 

«  DeviL     Vid.  Pears.  Vind.  Ign.  par.  ii.  cap.  12.  b  l>oidd^. — Gr.  To  set  thyself. 

o  That  they  may  be  miserably  destroyed. — Gr.  d  KaKotainova.  •  Desunt.  Gr.  /  Of 
those.  s  In  our  mind. — Gr.  In  our  breast  :  so  MS.  Cotton.  To  have  an  understand- 
ing of  the  gods,  or,  the  gods  according  to  understanding.  So  the  other,  of  Abp.  Usher. 
Metaphrastes  joins  both  together.     Vid.  Annot.  Usser.  num.  5.  *  You  mean  him.- 

Gr.         '2  Cor.  vi.  16.         >Gr.— Delight. 

17 


130  A    RELATION    OF   THE 

ship  with  great  gladness-,  and  hastened  to  see  the  holy  Polycarp,  his 
fellow-scholar,'  who  was  bishop  tl  •  had  both  of  them  been 

formerly  the  disciples  of  St.  John. 

IX.  Being  brought  to  him,  and  communicating  to  him  some  spi- 
ritual gifts,  and  glorying  in  bis  bon  atreated,  first  of  all,  the- 
whole  church,  (for  the  churches  and  cities  of  Asia  attended'  this 
man  by  their  bishops,  and  priests,  and  deacons,  all  hastening  to  him, 
if  by  any  means  thej  might  receive  some  part  of  his  spiritual  gift,)f 
but  more  particularly  Polycarp,  to  contend'1  with  God  in  his  behalf; 
that  being  suddenly  taken  by  the  beasts  from  the  world/  he  might 
appeal  before  the  face  of  Christ.  And  this  he  thus  spake,  and  testi- 
fied, extending  so  much  his  love  for'  Christ  as  one  who  was  about  to 

.e  heaven  through  his  own  good  confession,  and  the  earnest  con- 
tention of  those  who  prayed  together  with  him  ;  and  to  return  a  recom- 
pense to  the  churches,  who  came  to  meet  him  by  their  governors,  he 
sent*  letters  of  thanks  to  them,  which  distilled  spiritual  grace,  with 
prayer  and  exhortation.  Seeing  therefore  all  men  so  kindly  affi 
towards  him,  and  fearing  lest  the  love  of  the  brotherhood  should  pre- 
vent his  hastening  to  the  Lord,  now  that  a  fair  door  of  suffering  was 
opened  to  him,  he  wrote  the  epistle  we  here  subjoin  to  the  Romans. 
(See  the  epistle  before.) 

X.  And  having  thus  strengthened  such  of  the  brethren  at  Rom 
were  against  his  martyrdom,  by  this  epistle,  as  he  desired  ;  setting  sail 
from  Sm vrna,  (for  he  was  pressed  by  the  soldiers  to  hasten  to  the 
public  spectacles  at  great  Rome,  that  being  delivered  to  the  wild  beasts 
in  sight  of  the  people  of  the  Romans,  he  might  receive  the  crown  for 
which  he  strove,)  he  came  to  Troas,  from  whence  going  on,  being 
brought  to  Neapolis,  he  passed  by  Philippi  through  Macedonia,  and 
that  part  of  Epirus  which  is  next  to  Epidamnus  ;  having  found  a  ship 
in  one  of  the  seaports,  he  sailed  over  the  Adriatic  sea;  [and  from 
thence  entering  into  the  Tyrrhene,]  and  passing  by  several  islands  and 
Cities,  at  length  be  saw  Pnteoli ;  which  being  showed  to  the  holy  man, 
he  hastened  to  go  forth,  being  desirous  to  walk  from  thence,  in  the 
way  thai  Paul  the  apostle  had  gone  ;"  but  a  violent  wind  arising,  and 
driving  on  the  ship,  would  not  Buffer*  him  bo  to  do  :  wherefore  I 

mppHing  tin-  loi  'inen  in  that  place,  he  Sailed  forward. 

XI.  And  the  wind  continuing  favourable  to  us,  in  one  day  and  a 
night,  we  indeed  were  unwillingly  hurried  on,  as  sorrowing  to  think 
of  bt  rated   from   this  h<>h  martyr:   but  to   him    it  hap; 

justly  according  to  his  wish,  that  he  might  go  the  sooner1  out  of  the 

•  Co-uuiiitur.  *  Or. —  /«''"  M<</.  •'  Partaht  of  hit  spiritual  I'lcssing, — MB.  Cotton. 
Ili-nr  Mm  iitconm$, — Kataphmt         *2  •        'That. 

4ml|  dtsayyairim:  !■>  thr  v-rld.         f  To.  *(Jr — By  smiling ',  *  ArUxxviii.   lit.   11 

4  The  ship  hi  I  the  forepart  icoulJ  not  pomi:.  *  BN*f  "!  A  Wli  !o  5°' 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS.  131 

world,  and  attain  unto  the  Lord,  whom  he  loved.  Wherefore,  sailing 
into  the  Roman  port,  and  those  impure  sports  being  almost  at  an  end, 
the  soldiers  began  to  be  offended  at  our  slowness ;  but  the  bishop 
with  great  joy  complied  with  their  hastiness. 

XII.  Being  therefore  soon  forced  away  from  the  port  so  called,  we 
forthwith  met  the  brethren,  (for  the  report  of  what  concerned  the  holy 
martyr  was  spread  abroad,)  who  were  full  of  fear  and  joy:  for  they 
rejoiced  in  that  God  had  vouchsafed  them  the  company  of  Theopho- 
rus,  but  were  afraid,  when  they  considered  that  such  an  one  was 
brought  thither  to  die.     Now  some  of  these  he  commanded  to  hold 
their  peace  who  were  the  most  zealous"  for  his  safety,  and  said,  that 
"  they  would  appease  the  people,  that  they  should  not  desire  the  de- 
struction of  the  just:"6   who  presently  knowing  this  by  the  spirit,  and 
saluting  all  of  them,  he  desired  them  that  they  would  show  a  true  love 
to  him :  disputing  yet  more  with  them  than  he  had  done  in  his  epistle, 
and  persuading  them  not  to  envy  him  who  was  hastening  unto  the 
Lord.     And  so,  all  the  brethren  kneeling  down,  he  prayed  toc  the  Son 
of  God,  in  behalf  of  the  churches,  that  he  would  put  a  stop  to  the 
persecution,  and  continue  the  love  of  the  brethren  towards  each  other  ; 
which  being  done,  he  was  with  all  haste  led  into  the  amphitheatre,  and 
speedily,  according  to  the  command  of  Caesar  before  given,  thrown  in, 
the  end  of  the  spectacles  being  at  hand.     For  it  was  then  a  very 
solemn  day,  called  in  the  Roman  tongue  the  thirteenth  of  the  calends 
of  January ;  upon  which  the  people  were  more  than  ordinarily  wont 
to  be  gathered  together.     Thus  was  he  delivered  to  the  cruel  beasts, 
near  the  temple,  by  wicked  men  ;  so  that  the  desire  of  the  holy  martyr, 
Ignatius,  might  be  accomplished  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  The  desire  of  the 
righteous  is  acceptable  ;"J  namely,  that  he  might  not  be  burdensome 
to  any  of  the  brethren,  by  the  gathering  of  his  relics,  but  might  be 
wholly  devoured  by  them ;  according  as  in  his  epistle  he  had  before 
wished  that  so  his  end  might  be.     For  only  the  greater  and  harder  of 
his  holy  bones  remained ;  which  were  carried  to  Antioch,  and  there 
put  up  in  a  napkin,  as  an  inestimable  treasure  left  to  the  church  by  the 
grace  which  was  in  the  martyr. 

XIII.  Now  these  things  were  done  the  thirteenth  of  the  calends  of 
January,  that  is  the  twentieth  day  of  December ;  Sura  and  Synecius 
being  the  second  time  consuls  of  the  Romans ;  of  which  we  ourselves 
were  eye-witnesses.  And  being  the  night  following  watching,  with 
tears,  in  the  house,  praying  to  God  with  our  bended  knees,  that  he 
would  give  us,  weak  men,  some  assurance  of  what  had  been  before 
done, — it  happened,  that  falling  into  a  slumber,  some  of  us,  on  the 
sudden,  saw  the  blessed  Ignatius  standing  by  us,  and  embracing  us, 

a  Hot.         b  Quictare  plebem  ad  non  expetere  perdcrijustum.         c  Entreated.         *  Prov. 
x.  «4. 


132  MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    IGNATIls 

others  beheld  the  blessed  martyr  praying  for  us ;  others,  as  it  were, 
dropping  with  sweat,  as  if  he  were  just  come  from  his  great  labour, 
and  standing  by  the  Lord. 

XIV.  Which  when  we  saw,  being  filled  with  joy,  and  comparing 
the  visions  of  our  dreams  with  one  another,  we  glorified  God,  the  giver 
of  all  good  things  ;  and  being  assured  of  the  blessedness  of  the  saint,1 
we  have  made  known  f'  unto  you  both  the  day  and  the  time  ;  that  be- 
ing assembled  together  according  to  the  time  of  his  martyrdom,  we 
may  communicate  with  the  combatant,  and  most  valiant  martyr  of 
Christ,  who  trod  under  foot  the  devil,  and  perfected  the  course  he  had 
piously  desired,  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  ;  by  whom,  and  with  whom, 
all  glory  and  power  be  to  the  Father,  with  the  blessed  Spirit,  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen. 

ft  Bcatificantes  Sanctum.     Pronouncing  him  blessed.  h  Having  manifested,  or  made 

known. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 

OF  THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  ST.  POLYCARP,  AND  OF  THE  EPISTLE  WRITTEN 
BY  THE  CHURCH  OF  SMYRNA  CONCERNING  IT. 

That  there  were  heretofore  several  called  by  the  name  of  Polycarp — Both  the  country 
and  parentage  of  St.  Polycarp  uncertain — What  he  was  before  his  conversion,  and  by 
whom  converted — He  is  made  bishop  of  Smyrna  by  the  apostles — How  he  behaved 
himself  in  that  office — The  great  veneration  which  the  Christians  had  for  him — Of 
his  journey  to  Rome,  and  what  he  did  there — The  testimony  of  St.  John  concerning 
him,  Rev.  ii.  8 — Of  the  time  of  St.  Polycarp's  martyrdom — What  persecutions  the 
church  then  laboured  under — Of  the  epistle  of  the  church  of  Smyrna  concerning  his 
sufferings,  and  the  value  which  the  ancients  put  upon  it — Of  the  miracle  that  is  said 
to  have  happened  at  his  death — What  his  age  was  when  he  suffered — What  the  day 
of  his  suffering — In  what  place  he  was  put  to  death — Of  the  authority  of  the  present 
epistle ;  and  its  translation  into  our  own  language. 

1.  The  epistle  of  the  church  of  Smyrna,  (the  next  piece  that  follows 
in  the  present  collection,)  however  it  makes  mention  of  some  others 
that  suffered  at  the  same  time  with  St.  Polycarp,  for  the  faith  of  Christ ; 
yet,  insisting  chiefly  upon  the  particulars  of  his  passion,  and  being 
designed  by  that  church  to  communicate  to  all  the  world  the  glorious 
end  of  their  beloved  bishop,  and  most  worthy  and  constant  martyr  of 
Christ,  I  shall  observe  the  same  method  in  treating  of  this,  that  I  did 
in  discoursing  of  the  acts  of  St.  Ignatius  before  ;  and  speak  somewhat 
of  the  life  of  St.  Polycarp  first,  before  I  come  to  consider  the  account 
that  is  here  given  us  of  his  death. 

2.  That  there  were  several  of  the  name  of  Polycarp  heretofore,  and 
who  must  therefore  carefully  be  distinguished  from  him  of  whom  we 
are  now  to  discourse,  has  been  evidently  shown  by  the  late  learned 
editor4  of  his  epistle.  As  for  our  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St.  John, 
and  the  great  subject  of  the  present  martyrology,  we  have  little  account 
either  what  was  his  country,  or  who  his  parents.  In  general,  we  are 
told  that  he  was  born  somewhere  in  the  East ;  as  Le  Moyne  thinks," 
not  far  from  Antioch  ;  and  perhaps  from  Smyrna  itself,  says  our  learned 
Dr.  Cave.c  Being  sold  in  his  childhood,  he  was  bought  by  a  certain 
noble  matron  whose  name  was  Calisto,  and  bred  up  by  her,  and  at 
her  death  made  heir  to  all  her  estate  ;  which  though  very  considerable, 
he  soon  spent  in  works  of  charity  and  mercy/ 

3.  His  Christianity  he  received  in  his  younger  years,  from  Bucolus, 
bishop  of  Smyrna :  by  whom  being  made  e  deacon  and  catechist  of 
that  church,  and  discharging  those  offices  with  great  approbation,  he 
was,  upon  the  death  of  Bucolus,  made  bishop  of  Smyrna  by  the  apos- 

aLe  Moyne  Prol.  ad  Var.  Sacr.  » Ibid.  cLife  of  St.  Polycarp,  p.  112.  So  the 
Roman  Martyrology.     dLe  Moyne,  Cave,  &c  e  Ibid. 

M  133 


134  PRELIMINARY   DISCOURSE 

ties  ;a  and  particularly  by  St.  John,6  whose  disciple,  together  with 
Ignatius,  he  had  before  been. 

4.  How  considerable  a  reputation  he  gained  by  bis  wise  adminis- 
tration of  this  great  Office,  we  may  in  some  measure  conclude  from 
that  character  which  his  verj  enemies  gave  of  him  at  his  death:  when 
crying  out  that  he  should  be  thrown  to  the  lions,  they  laid  this  to  him 
as  his  crime,  hut  which  was  indeed  his  chiefest  honour/  "This,*1 
say  they,  "  is  the  doctor  of  Asia,  the  father  of  the  Christians,  and  the 
overthrower  of  our  gods."  And  when  he  was  burnt  they  persuaded 
the  governor  not  to  sutler  his  friends  to  carry  away  any  of  his  remains,4 
"  Lest,"  say  they,  "  the  Christians,  forsaking  him  that  was  crucified, 
should  begin  to  worship  Polycarp." 

6.  Nor  was  it  any  small  testimony  of  the  respect  which  was  paid  to 
him,  that  (as  we  are  told  in  this  epistle)  the  Christians  would  not  suffer 
him  to  pull  off"  his  own  clothes,  but  strove  who  should  be  the  most 
forward  to  do  him  service;  thinking  themselves  happy  if  they  could 
but  come  to  touch  his  flesh.  "  For,"  says  the  epistle,  "he  was  truly 
adorned  with  such  a  good  conversation,1'  as  made  all  men  pay  a  more 
than  ordinary  respect  to  him. 

G.  Hence  St.  Hierome  f  calls  him  the  prince  of  all  Asia  ;  Sophronius 
the  W<i  or  chief  ruler,  perhaps,  says  a  learned  man/  in  opposition 
to  the  Asian/ha-  of  the  heathen  spoken  of  in  his  epistle:  signifying 
thereby,  that  as  they  were  among  the  Gentiles  the  heads  of  their  sacred 
rites,  and  presided  in  the  common  assemblies  and  spectacles  of  Asia, 
si  i  \\  as  Polycarp  among  the  Christians  a  kind  of  universal  bishop  or 
primate,  the  prince  and  head  of  the  churches  in  those  parts. 

7.  Nor  was  his  care  of  the  church  confined  within  the  bounds  of 
th<  Lesser  Asia,  but  extended  even  unto  Rome  itself:  whither  we  are 
told*  he  went  upon  the  occasion  of  the  Quarto-deciman  controversy, 
then  on  foot  between  the  eastern  and  western  churches,  and  which  he 
hoped  to  have  put  a  stop  to  by  his  timely  interposition  with  those  of 
Rome.  But  though  Anicetus  and  he  could  not  agree  upon  that  point, 
each  alleging  apostolical  tradition  to  warrant  them  in  their  practice, 
yet  that  did  not  hinder  but  that  he  was  received  with  all  possible  re- 
spect there,  and  officiated  in  their  churches  in  presence  of  the  bishop,'1 
and  communicated'  with  him  in  the  most  sacred  mysteries  of  religion. 

8.  While  he  was  at  Rome,  he  remitted  nothing  of  his  concern  for 
the  interests  of  the  church,  but  employed  his  time  partly  in  confirming 

°Ircnnus,  lit>.  iii.  cup.  M.      En  ■'•  H.  '■  Eoclet.  lib.  hr.  r;ij>.  11.      Yiil.  Ti'iit/i  I.   ! 

■  .)«•  Pol yc  iii.  ieet  &        |TertnLd  P  B      LcSS.     ffieran.  da  Script  in 

Polycarp.  Vid.  MartyroL  J.ui.  \wi.  'Epiatie  of  tha  church  of  Saayrna,  num.  \ii 
-It>i<l.  mint.  xvii.  'Da  Script  in  Polycarp.  Sophron.  Intcrji.  Qnac.  tl*  Moyne 
Prol  id  V;ir.  Baor.  r-  Buaeb.  Efiat  Bcdea.  lib,  iv.  cap.  I  L  h  Vid.  Vaiaa.  Aanot  ."1 
Eoaeb.  EocL  Hi-t.  lib.  iv.  cap.  II.  Tantael.  Bxarcit  dc  Fotycarpi  sect.  ix.  'La 
Moyi  Sacr 


OF  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.  POLYCARP.  135 

those  who  were  sound  in  the  faith,  but  especially  in  drawing  over 
those  who  were  not,  from  their  errors.  In  which  work  how  successful 
he  was,  his  own  scholar  Irenceus0  particularly  recounts  to  us. 

9.  What  he  did  after  his  return,  and  how  he  discharged  his  pastoral 
office  to  the  time  of  his  martyrdom,  we  have  little  further  account  ■ 
nor  shall  I  trouble  myself  with  the  stories  which  Pionius,"  without  any 
good  grounds,  has  recorded  of  the  life  of  this  holy  man.  But  that  he 
still  continued  with  all  diligence  to  watch  over  the  flock  of  Christ,  we 
have  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  believe  ;  and  that  not  only  from 
what  has  been  already  observed,  but  from  one  particular  more  which 
ought  not  to  be  omitted ;  namely,  that  when  Ignatius  was  hurried 
away  from  his  church  of  Antioch  to  his  martyrdom,  he  knew  none  so 
proper  to  commend  the  care  of  it  to  as  to  this  excellent  man ;  or  c  to 
supply  by  his  own  letters,  what  the  other  had  not  time  to  write,  to  all 
the  other  churches  round  about. 

10.  But  I  shall  close  up  this  part  of  the  life  of  this  holy  saint  with 
the  testimony  which  St.  John  has  given  to  him,  (Rev.  ii.  8,)  and 
which,  as  it  affords  us  a  sufficient  evidence  of  the  excellency  of  his 
life,  so  does  it  open  the  way  to  what  we  are  next  to  consider,  viz.  his 
death  and  passion.  "  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna,  write ; 
These  things  saith  the  First  and  the  Last,  which  was  dead,  and  is 
alive.  I  know  thy  works,  and  tribulation,  and  poverty,  (but  thou  art 
rich,)  and  I  know  the  blasphemy  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and 
are  not,  but  are  the  synagogue  of  Satan.  Fear  none  of  those  things 
which  thou  shalt  suffer :  behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into 
prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried :  and  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days. 
Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life." 

11.  And  this  brings  me  to  that  which  I  am  chiefly  to  insist  upon, 
namely,  the  death  of  this  blessed  martyr ;  the  subject  of  that  epistle 
which  is  subjoined  from  the  church  of  Smyrna  concerning  it.  And 
here  I  shall,  in  the  first  place,  take  for  granted  what  our  learned  bishop 
Pearson'1  seems  to  have  proved  beyond  contradiction,  that  St.  Polycarp 
suffered,  not,  as  is  commonly  supposed/  about  the  year  of  Christ  167, 
or  as  bishop  Usher/  has  stated  it,  yet  later,  169,  much  less  as  Petit/ 
still  later,  175 ;  but  under  the  emperor  Antoninus  Pius,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  147.  Now  that  the  Christians  about  that  time,  and  espe- 
cially those  of  Asia,  lay  under  some  severe  persecutions,  is  evident 
from  the  Apology  which  Justin  Martyr  about  this  very  time  presented 
to  the  emperor,  in  order  to  a  mitigation  of  them :  which,  however, 
Baronius,"  and  after  him  Valesius,'  place  two  or  three  years  later ;  yet 

a  Apud.  Euseb.  loc.  sit.  b  Apud  Tentzcl.  Exercit.  Select,  iv.  p.  76,  &c.  c  See  his 
Epistle  to  Polycarp.  num.  via.  d  Dissert.  Chron.  part  II.  a  cap.  14  ad  20.  • Euseb. 
Chron.  /Not.  in  Epist.  Smyrn.  104,  105.  Comp.  Tcntz.  Exercit.  de  Polycarp.  sec. 
xxi.  s  Vid.  Uave  Hist.  Eccles.  in  Polycarp.  h  Ad  An.  150.  Comp.  Spond.  Epi- 
tom.  ibid.         'Annot.  in  Euseb.  lib.  iv.  cap.  8. 


136  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

hath  their  opinion  no  certain  ;  nor  does  any  thing  hinder  us. 

from  reducing  that  apology  to  the  same  time  with  St.  Polycarp's  mar- 
tyrdom ;°  nay,  and  some  have  carried  it  still  higher,  eveD  to  the  begin- 
ning of  that  emperor's  reign ;  as  both  Eusebius1  among  the  ancients, 
and  his  learned  editor  Scaliger/  not  to  mention  any  others,'1  of  later 
times,  have  done. 

12.  What  the  effect  of  this  Apology  was  we  cannot  certainly  tell; 
hut  that  the  persecution  was  DOt  presently  put  to  an  end,  not  only  the 
Second  Apology  of  the  same  father,  (however  the  critics  diiTer  about 
the  same,)  but  that  which  Eusebius*  tells  us  was  afterwards  pre- 

I  to  his  successor,  Marcus  Aurelius,  by  Mclito,  bishop  of  Sardis, 

plainly  makes  appear,  in  which  he  complains  that  "the  Christians  were 

still  informed  against  by  wicked  men,  greedy  of  what  they  had ;  and 

I,  notwithstanding  the  several  orders  that  his  father  bad  given, 

and  the  letters  he  had  himself  written  to  the  contrary."     It  is  true 

bius  tells  us  that  the  emperor  Antoninus  Pius'  had  set  out  an  ef- 
fectual edict  in  favour  of  the  Christians,  and  that  particularly  addressed 
to  the  common  council  of  Asia,  not  long  before  the  time  in  which  we 
suppose  St.  Polycarp  to  have  suffered.  And  this  seems  to  leave  it 
under  some  doubt  how  a  persecution  could  have  been  again  revived 
against  the  church  within  so  short  a  time,  and  after  such  a  vigorous 
edict  of  an  emperor  still  living,  to  the  contrary.  But  it  is  evident 
E  bius  must  have  mistook  the  emperor,  and  have  set  down  that  for 
the   rescript  of  Antoninus  Pius  which  was  indeed  set  out  by  Marcus 

ins  immediately  after  his  death;  as  both  the  inscription  si. 
ami''  Yalesius  and  others  have  evidently  made  it  appear  to  be. 

13.  It  was,  then,  in  one  of  these  "topical  persecutions  so  frequent  in 
the  Lesser  Asia,  that  the  storm,  happening  to  fall  in  a  particular  man- 
ner upon  the  church  of  Smyrna,  carried  off  this  holy  martyr  among  the 
rest.  What  the  particular  circumstances  of  his  passion  were  it  would 
be  impertinent  for  me  to  relate  in  this  place,  seeing  they  are  so  fully 
and  exactly  described  ID  the  epistle  of  which  we  are  now  discoursing, 
a  piece  so   excellently  composed,  that    Kusebius  thought   it  worthy  to 

be  almost  entirely  transcribed  into  his  Ecclesiastical  History;  and  of 

which  a  very  great  man'  of  the  last  age  professed,  "That  lie  knew  not 
an\  thing  in  all  ecclesiastical  antiquity,  that  was  more  wont  to  affect 

hlfl  mind  ;  insomuch  that  he  B4  emed  to  be  no  longer  himself  when  he 
read  it,  and   believed  that    I  d   Christian    could    be   satisfied  with 

°s,,   hi,  D  tin.  M.  8{ricifcg.  PP.  tee.  il  p»  150,  Ac.        •' 

Chron.ann.  1*2.        'Scalig.  Annot  in  Buaeb.  p.  210.        *Peta*.in  Epiphan.  I! 
\Ui.    Anton,  in  Pagijn  Baron  id  an.  ISO.  nam.  '■*.  Herman.     Contract  Mariai 
dec  H        '  .  lib.  hr.  cap.  36.        /Ibid.  lib.  ir.  cap.  13.         t  Vale*  in  Kb.  ir. 

c  13.  Buaeb.  «-t  infra,  in  c  36,  p.  78,  Add.  Ant  Pagi  Critic,  in  Baron,  ad  J 
Dum.iT.  'Eoaeb.Hi»t  Ecclea.lib.iT.cap.l5,p.l04,  -  i  Animadf.ini 
l».  231.  num.  3188 


OF  THE    MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.  POLYCARP.  137 

reading  often  enough  this,  and  the  like  accounts,  of  the  sufferings  of 
those  blessed  martyrs  who  in  the  primitive  times  laid  down  their  lives 
for  the  faith." 

14.  Nor  did  the  ancients  put  any  less  value  upon  this  piece,  which, 
as  Gregory  of  Tours"  tells  us,  was  even  to  his  time  read  publicly  in 
the  Gallican  churches,  and  no  doubt  made  a  part  of  that  annual  re- 
membrance which  the  churches  of  Asia  kept  of  his  martyrdom. 

15.  But  though  I  think  it  needless  to  mention  here  any  thing  of 
what  the  following  epistle  relates  concerning  the  passion  of  this  holy 
man,  yet  one  circumstance  there  is,  which  both  Eusebius  and  Ruffinusb 
having  omitted,  is  also  passed  by  in  the  following  translation,  though 
found  in  the  Acts,  as  set  out  from  the  Barroccian  manuscript  by  Arch- 
bishop Usher :  and  that  is  this,  that,  the  soldier  or  officer  having  struck 
his  lance  into  the  side  of  the  saint,  there  came  forth  a  pigeon,  together 
with  a  great  quantity  of  blood,  as  is  expressed  in  the  following  epistle. 
Now,  though  there  may  seem  to  have  been  something  of  a  foundation 
for  such  a  miracle  in  the  raillery  of  Lucian,d  upon  the  death  of  Pere- 
grinus  the  philosopher,  who  burnt  himself  about  the  same  time  that  St. 
Polycarp  suffered,  and  from  whose  funeral  pile  he  makes  a  vulture  to 
ascend,  in  opposition,  it  may  be,  to  St.  Polycarp's  pigeon ;  if  indeed 
he  designed,  (as  a  learned  mane  has  conjectured,)  under  the  story  of 
that  philosopher,  to  ridicule  the  life  and  sufferings  of  Polycarp ;  yet,  I 
confess,  I  am  so  little  a  friend  to  such  kind  of  miracles,  that  I  thought 
it  better,  with  Eusebius,  to  omit  that  circumstance,  than  to  mention  it 
from  Bishop  Usher's  manuscript.  And  indeed,  besides  the  strangeness 
of  such  an  adventure,  I  cannot  think,  had  any  such  thing  truly  hap- 
pened at  his  death,  that  not  only  Eusebius  should  have  been  ignorant 
of  it,  but  that  neither  St.  Hierome,  nor  Rufhnus,  nor  the  Mensea  of  the 
Greek  church,  should'  have  made  the  least  mention  of  it.  Either, 
therefore,  there  must  have  been  some  interpolation  in  the  manuscript 
set  forth  by  that  learned  man  ;  or,  because  that  does  not  appear,  per- 
haps it  may  be  better  accounted  for  by  the  mistake  of  a  single  letter-'" 
in  the  original ;  which  will  bring  it  to  no  more  than  what  Eusebius  has 
in  effect  said,  that  "  there  came  out  of  his  left  side  a  great  quantity  of 
blood." 

16.  As  for  what  concerns  the  time  of  his  martyrdom,  I  have  before 
shown  the  different  computations  which  learned  men  have  made  of  it. 
Nor  are  they  less  at  variance  about  the  age  s  of  this  holy  martyr  when 
he  suffered,  than  about  the  year  of  his  suffering :  for  though  St.  Poly- 
pe Glor.  Mart.  cap.   lxxx\i.  *Vid.  CJsser.  Annot.  in  Act.  Polyc.  num.  lxxvii. 

'Num.  xvi.  <*De  Mortc  Pcregrini,  p.  1006.  Aurcl.  Prudent,  reports  the  same  of 
Eulalia ;  but  he  made  his  pigeon  to  fly  out  of  her  mouth  just  as  she  expired.  Tlepi  Y.rc<pav. 
Hymn  iii.  ver.  160.  •Le  Moyne  Var.  Sacr.  Prol.  ad  torn.  I.  /So  Lc  Moyne  cor- 
rects it,  Prol.  ad  Varia  Sacra:  reading  for  K^\9c  izcpuncfa,  'E^XQ'  at  dpiunpa.  ffVid. 
Tentzel.  Exercit.  Select,  de  Polycarp.  sec.  xxxiv. 

18  m2 


138  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

carp  expressly  told  the  proconsul,  as  we  road  in  the  following  epi- 
that  he  had  "served  Christ  eighty  and  six  years ;"  yet  some1  interpret 
this  of  the  number  of  yean  since  his  conversion;  others'  of  those  of 
his  whole  life.     But  however  thus  much  is  evident,  that,  win 
of  the  two  be  in  the  right,  they  will  either  of  them  make  good  what 

Iren:eus"  has  told  us  of  him,  that  "he  was  very  old  when  he  died;" 
from  which  nothing  can  be  concluded  either  for  the  former  of  these 
opinions,  or  against  the  latter. 

17.  But  the  following  acts  of  his  martyrdom  go  yet  farther:  they 
tell  us  that  he  not  only  suffered  at  "so  great  an  age;1'   but  upon  the 

it   Sabbath,  the  second  day  of  the  month  Xanthieus,  before  the 
th  calend  of  May,  about  two  o'clock."     What  is  meant  by  this 
t  S  bbath"  is  another  point  much  debated,  but  never  like  to  be 
id  among  learned  men  ;  whose  opinions  are  examined  at  large  by 
Bishop  Usher/  '  Yalesius/  Le  Moyne,*  Bishop  Pearson,"  and  othi 
upon  this  occasion.     But  if  we  were  right  before,  in  assigning  the  year 
of  his  suffering,  as  I  think  we  were,  then  we  must  conclude  the  great 
Sabbath  to  have  been  the  same  here  that  is  usually  called  by  that  name 
among  ecclesiastical  writers,  namely,  the  Saturday  in  the  holy  arck ; 
to  which  all  the  other  characters  here  assigned  are  exactly  correspon- 
dent.     And  then,   according  to  this  computation,  St.  Polycarp  will 
have  Buffered  in  the  year  of  Christ  147,  being  March  the  26th,  the 
Saturday  before  Easter,  about  the  eighth  hour. 

18.  The  place  in  which  he  suffered  was  a  large  amphitheatre,  in 
which  the  common  assemblies  of  Asia  were  wont  to  be  kept;  and, 
as  we  are  told  by  those  who  have  travelled  into  those  parts,*  is  in 
some  measure  still  remaining,  and  shown  as  the  place  of  St.  Polycarp's 
martvrdom.  I  say  nothing  to  that  which  some  have  observed  upon  this 
occasion  of  the  calamities  which  not  long  after  fell  upon  the  city  of 
Smyrna,  and  which  may  seem  to  have  been  the  effect  of  the  Divine 
vengeance,  punishing  them  for  their  cruelty  towards  this  excellent 
man  and  the  rest  of  his  companions  who  suffered  together  with  him  ; 
because  this  is  without  the  bounds  of  my  present  design,  which  leads 

me  only  to  consider  what  concerns  the  epistle  of  the  church  of  Smyrna, 

to  which  that  which  followed  the  death  of  Pohcarp  has  no  relation. 

l!>.  Having  i  i  d  through  the  chief  parts  of  the  following  re- 

lation, and  which  seemed  n.  .'lire  our  animadversion,  it  is  time 

erre  concerning  the  epistle  itself,  which  is  here  subjoined, 

'•  Niiin.  iv.        M'i.l.r       !  L  at  Polycarp.  p.  alt     Comp.  Tentiel. 

Polyearp.Me.ui.iT.  LQiron.  partiic.  15.        'Iran. 

r.mtr.  Hn-n-s.  Kb.  in.  O.  8.            *  In     '  num.  101.   10."..             SAnnot    i:. 

pp.64                  <  l'r..!.  .-.  ad  Var.BaCT.  Chron.  par.  ii.  c.  IS.          •  Ant. 

Critic  ia  Baron,  ad  an.  169.     T.    ■  Be.xxr.xxxi.fte.        'Smith 

Epfet.  de  1                                   ''.iN.rni.  r.  V                            \  Id.  Timt/.tl.  I                     >ct.  iv. 
wii.  wxiii. 


OF   THE    MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    POLYCARP.  139 

that  it  is  a  piece  of  most  unquestionable  credit  and  antiquity.  As  for 
the  main  body  of  it,  we  find  it  preserved  in  the  Ecclesiastical  History 
of  Eusebius,0  who  lived  not  above  an  age  and  a  half  after  the  writing 
of  it.  And  even  the  manuscript  itself,  made  use  of  by  Bishop  Usher, 
is  so  well  attested  that  we  need  not  any  farther  assurance  of  the  truth 
of  it.  The  sum  of  the  account  which  we  have  given  us  of  it  is  this, 
"  that  Caius,  an  acquaintance  of  St.  Irenseus,  the  disciple  of  Polycarp, 
transcribed  it  from  the  copy  of  that  father ;  and  Socrates  the  Corin- 
thian from  Caius;  and  from  Socrates'  copy  was  transcribed  that 
manuscript  which  we  still  have  of  it."6 

20.  Twice  has  this  epistle  been  put  into  our  own  language,  as  far 
as  the  History  of  Eusebius  has  given  occasion  for  the  translation  of  it. 
What  those  editions  are  I  cannot  tell,  having  never  perused  either  of 
them.  But  I  suppose  it  is  now  for  the  first  time  joined  in  an  entire 
piece  together,  and  so  communicated  to  the  English  reader.  In  my 
translation  of  it  I  have  strictly  followed  the  edition  of  our  most  reve- 
rend primate,  from  which  Cotelerius's  is  but  a  copy:  nor  have  I,  that  I 
know  of,  departed  in  the  least  circumstance  from  it,  except  in  that  one 
for  which  I  have  before  accounted.  So  that  I  may  venture  to  say  I  have 
here  truly  set  forth  the  epistle  of  the  church  of  Smyrna,  as  near  as  our 
language  would  serve  to  express  the  sense,  if  not  to  come  up  to  the 
beauty  and  vigour  of  the  original. 

aLib.  iv.  c.  15.  ^See  below. 


CIRCULAR  EPISTLE 

OF   THE 

CHURCH  OF  SMYRNA 

CONCERNING    THL 

MAllTVRDOM  OF  ST.  POLYCAI!!'. 


The  church  of  God  which  is  at  Smyrna,  to  the  church  of  God  which 
is  at  Philadelphia,*  and  to  all  the  other  assemblies*  of  the  holy  catholic 
church  in  every  place ;  mercy, peace,  and  love  from  God  the  Father,  and 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  be  multiplied. 

I.  We  have  written  to  you,  brethren,  both  of  what  concerns  the 
other  martyrs,  but  especially  Polycarp  the  blessed,  who  by  his  suffer- 
ings0 put  an  end  to  the  persecution ;  setting,  as  it  were,  his  seal  to  it. 
For  almost  all  things  that  went  before  were  done  that  the  Lord  might 
show  us,  from  above,  a  martyrdom  truly  such  as  became  the  gospel. 
For  he  expected  to  be  delivered  up,  even  as  the  Lord  also  did,  that 
WC  should  become  the  followers  of  his  example  ;d  considering  not  only 
what  is  profitable  for  ourselves,  but  also  for  our  neighbours'  advantage. 
For  it  is  the  part  of  a  true  and  perfect  charity  to  desire  not  only  that  a 
man's  self  should  be  saved,  but  also  all  the  brethren. 

II.  The  sufferings,'  then,  of  all  the  other  martyrs,  were  blessed7  and 
generous ;  which  they  underwent  according  to  the  will  of  God.  For 
so  it  becomes s  us,  who  are  more  religious  than  others,  to  ascribe 
the  power  and  ordering  of  all  things  unto  him.  And,  indeed,  who 
can  choose  but  admire  the  greatnesf  of  their  mind,  and  that  admirable 
patience,  and  love  of  their  Master,  which  (hen  appeared  in  them;  who, 
when  they  were  so  flayed  with  whipping,  that  the  frame  and  structure 

of  their  bodies  unv  laid  "pen  to  their  very  inward  veins  and  arteries, 
nevertheless  endured  it?      And  when  all  that   beheld  them  pitied   ami 

lamented  them,  yet  they  showed  s<>  great  a  generosity  of  mind,  that 
not  one  of  them  l<-t  bo  much  as  a  sigh  or  a  groan  escape  them,  plainly 
showing,1  that  these  holy  martyrs  of  Christ,  at  the  ret)  sam<  time  that 
the)  were  thus  tormented,  were  absent  from  the  body;  or,  rather,  that 
tie-  Lord  stood  by  them,  and  conv<  rsj  d  with  them.     Wherefore,  being 

a  Phil-.m.  In.    \ 'i.l.  Aiui.it.  [fa  n.  i.   ( Jomp.  Vet  Let  [nterpr.  st  Bi     '  ■  B  K ■  I" 

1-  n.  <•.   L6.  '  Hi.    ixtatj.  r  '  d  //""•  *  Mar!\j 

iVid.  Correct  Coteler. <  t  \  al, >.  in  Annot  id  Eaieb.  I.  Kr,  c  \%  p.  61.  »ing  to 

all  »f  us. 

110 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.   POLYCARP.  141 

supported  by a  the  grace  of  Christ,  they  despised  all  the  torments  of  the 
world ;  by  the  sufferings  of  an  hour  redeeming  themselves  from  ever- 
lasting punishment.  For  this  cause,  even  the  fire  of  their  cruel  and 
barbarous  executioners  seemed  cold  to  them  ;  whilst  they  hoped  thereby 
to  escape"  that  fire  which  is  eternal,  and  shall  never  be  extinguished ; 
and  beheld,  with  the  eyes  of  faith,.c  those  good  things  which  are  re- 
served for  them  that  endure  to  the  end  ;  "which  neither  ear  has  heard, 
nor  eye  seen,  nor  have  they  entered  into  the  heart  of  man."a  But  to 
them  they  were  now  revealed*  by  the  Lord  ;  as  being  no  longer  men, 
but  already  become  angels.  In  like  manner,  those  who  were  con- 
demned to  the  beasts,  and  kept  a  long  time  in  prison,  underwent  many 
cruel  torments;  being  forced  to  lie  upon  sharp  spikes/ laid  under  their 
bodies,  and  tormented  with  divers  other  sorts  of  punishments  ;  that  so, 
if  it  were  possible,  the  tyrant,  by  the  length  of  their  sufferings,  might 
have  brought  them  to  deny  Christ. 

III.  For,  indeed,  the  devil  did  invent  many  things  against  them  ; 
but,  thanks  be  to  God,  he  was  not  able  to  prevail  over  all;  for  the 
brave  Germanicus  strengthened  those  that  feared"  by  his  patience,  and 
fought  gloriously  with  the  beasts.  For  when  the  proconsul  would  have 
persuaded  him,  telling  him  that  he  should  consider  his  age,  and  spare 
himself,  he  pulled  the  wild  beast  to  him,  and  provoked  him,  being 
desirous  the  more  quickly  to  be  delivered  from  a  wicked  and  unjust 
world.71  Upon  this,  the  whole  multitude,  wondering  at  the  courage  of 
the  holy  and  pious  race  of  Christians,  cried  out,  "Take  away  those 
wicked  wretches  ;*  let  Polycarp  be  looked  out." 

IV.  Then  one  named  Quintus,  a  Phrygian,  being  newly  come  from 
thence,  seeing  the  beasts,  was  afraid.  This  was  he  who  forced  him- 
self and  some  others  to  present  themselves,  of  their  own  accord,  to  the 
trial.  Him,  therefore,  the  proconsul  persuaded,  with  many  promises, 
to  swear  and  sacrifice.  For  which  cause,  brethren,  we  do  not  com- 
mend those  who  offer  themselves  to  persecution,  seeing  the  gospel 
teaches  no  such  thing. 

V.  But  the  most  admirable  Polycarp,  when  he  first  heard  that  he 
was  called  for7  was  not  at  all  concerned  at  it,  but  resolved  to  tarry  in 
the  city.  Nevertheless,  he  was  at  the  last  persuaded,  at  the  desire  of 
many,  to  go  out  of  it.  He  departed,  therefore,  into  a  little  village, 
not  far  distant  from  the  city,  and  there  tarried  with  a  few  about  him  ; 
doing  nothing,  night  nor  day,  but  praying  for  all  men,  and  for  the 
churches  which  were  in  all  the  world,  according  to  his  usual  custom. 
And  as  he  was  praying,  he  saw  a  vision  three  days  before  he  was 
taken  ;  and  behold,  the  pillow  under  his  head  seemed  to  him  on  fire. 

a  Attending  to.  5  For  they  had  before  their  eyes  to  escape.  c  Of  their  heart.  d  1  Cor. 
ii.  9.  e  Shown.  f  See  Bishop  Usher's  Annot  n.  7.  Euseb.  I.  iv.  c.  15,  et  in  cum 
Annot.  Valesii,  p.  62,  D.         *  Their  fearfidness.         h  Life  of  them.         '  Atheists. 


142  CIRCULAR   EPISTLE   CONCERNING   THE 

Whereupon,  turning  to  those  that  were  with  him,  be  said  prophetically, 
that  lie  should  be  •burnt  alii 

VI.  Now  when  those  who  were  to  take  him  drew  Dear,  he  departed 
into  another  village;  and  immediately  they  who  Bought  him  came 
thither.  And  when  they  found  him  not,  they  seized  upon  two  young 
men  that  were  there  ;  one  of  which,  being  tormented,  confessed.  Fc* 
il  was  impossible  be  should  be  concealed,  forasmuch  as  they  who  be- 

trayed  him  were  bis  own  domestics.  So  the  officer  who  is  also  called 
.  !I  !  by  name,) hastened  to  bring  him  into  the  lists; 
that  so  Polycarp  might  receive  his  proper  portion,  being  made  par- 
taker o{'  Christ,  and  they  that  betrayed  him  undergo  the  punishment 
of  Judas. 

VII.  The  Serjeants,  therefore,  and  horsemen,  taking  the  young  lad 
along  with  them,  departed  about  supper-time  (being  Friday)  with 
their  usual  arms,  as  it  were  against  a  thief  or  a  robber.  And  being 
come  to  the  place  where  he  was,  about  the  close  of  the  evening,  they 
found  him  lying  down  in  a  little  upper  room ;  from  whence  he  could 
easily  have  escaped  into  another  place,  but  he  would  not,  saying, 
«  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done."  Wherefore,  when  he  heard  that 
they  were  come  to  the  house,  he  went  down  and  spake  to  them.  And 
as  they  that  were  present  wondered  at  his  age  and  constancy,  some  of 
them  began  to  say,  "  Was  there  need  of  all  this  carer  to  take  such  an 
old  man  ?"  Then  presently  he  ordered  that  the  same  hour  there 
should  be  somewhat  got  ready  for  them,  that  they  might  eat  and  drink 
their  fill ;  desiring  them  withal  that  they  would  give  him  one  hour's 
liberty  the  while,  to  pray  without  disturbance. a  And  when  they  had 
permitted  him,  he  stood  praying,  being  full  of  the  grace  of  God,  so 
that  he  ceased  not  for  two  whole  hours,  to  the  admiration  of  all  that 
heard  him;  insomuch  that  many  of  the  soldiers  began  to  repent  that 
they  were  come  out  against  so  godly  an  old  man. 

VIII.  As  soon  as  he  had  done  his  prayer — in  which  he  remembered 
all  men,  whether  little  or  great,  honourable  or  obscure,  that  had  at  any 
time  lH»n'  acquainted  with  him;  and,  with  them,  the  whole  catholic 

church,  over  all  the  world — the  time  being  Come  that  he  was  to  depart, 
the  guards  set  him  upon  an  ass,  ami  so  brought  him  into  the  city,  being 
the  day  of  the  great  Sabbath.  And  Herod,  the  chief  officer,  with  his 
father  Nicetes,  net  him  in  a  chariot.     And  having  taken  him  up  to 

them,  and  .set  him  in  the  chariot,  they  began  to  persuade  him,  Baying, 
-  What  harm  is  there  in  it,  tosay,  Lord  Casar,  and  sacrifice,  (with  the 
rest  that  is  usual  on  such  Occasions,)  and  so  be  sate?"  But  Polycarp, 
at  first,  answered  them  Dot :   whereupon  they  continuing  to   urge  him, 

•/  rrnul  l>r.  bJu$ticr  of  (he  |NMfc — Vul.  I  ssrr.  in   lor.  mini.  1  I.  1">.      ^  ' 

Bonk    n.    !'.:!.    I).  ■  Why   IMM   all  tins  <  \:.i,  ■:.    -'».    I  —  '•  in  l«v. 

'Freely.         «Comp.  Kusi-k  [.  iv.  e.  16,  p.  10.  B.  edit.  Vale*.  <t  Annot.  Vales,  p   62,  C. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    POLYCARP.  143 

he  said,  »♦  I  shall  not  do  what  you  persuade  me  to."  So  being  out  of 
all  hope  of  prevailing  with  him,  they  began  first  to  rail"  at  him  ; 
and  then,  with  violence,  threw  him  out  of  the  chariot,  insomuch  that 
he  hurt  his  thigh  with  the  fall.6  But  he,  not  turning  back,  went  on 
readily  with  all  diligence,  as  if  he  had  received  no  harm  at  all,  and  so 
was  brought  to  the  lists,  where  there  was  so  great  a  tumult,  that  no- 
body could  be  heard. 

IX.  As  he  was  going  into  the  lists,  there  came  a  voice  from  heaven 
to  him — "Be  strong,  Polycarp,  and  quit  thyself  like  a  man."  Now 
no  one  saw  who  it  was  that  spake  to  him ;  but  for  the  voice,  many  of 
our  brethren,  who  were  present,  heard  it.  And  as  he  was  brought  in, 
there  was  a  great  disturbance  when  they  heard  how  that  Polycarp  was 
taken.  And  when  he  came  near,  the  proconsul  asked  him  whether  he 
was  Polycarp  ;  who,  confessing  that  he  was,  he  persuaded  him  to  deny 
the  faith,  saying,  "Reverence  thy  old  age  ;"  with  many  other  things  of 
the  like  nature,  as  their  custom  is :  concluding  thus,  "  Swear  by 
Caesar's  fortune.  Repent,  and  say,  take  away  the  wicked."0  Then 
Polycarp,  looking  with  a  stern  countenance  upon  the  whole  multitude 
of  wicked  Gentiles  that  was  gathered  together  in  the  lists,  and  shaking 
his  hand  at  them,  looked  up  to  heaven,  and  groaning,  said,  "  Take 
away  the  wicked."  But  the  proconsul  insisting  and  saying,  "  Swear, 
and  I  will  set  thee  at  liberty  ;  reproach  Christ."  Polycarp  replied, 
"  Eighty  and  six  years  have  I  now  served  Christ,  and  he  has  never 
done  me  the  least  wrong ;  how  then  can  I  blaspheme  my  King  and 
my  Saviour?" 

X.  And  when  the  proconsul  nevertheless  still  insisted,  saying, 
"  Swear  by  the  genius  of  Caesar,"  he  answered,  "  Seeing  thou  art  so 
vainly  urgent  with  me  that  I  should  swear,  as  thou  callest  it,  by  the 
genius  of  Caesar,  seeming  as  if  thou  didst  not  know  what  I  am  ;  hear 
me  freely  professing  it  to  thee,  that  I  am  a  Christian.  But  if  thou  far- 
ther desire  an  account  what  Christianity  is,  appoint  a  day  and  thou  shalt 
hear  it."  The  proconsul  replied,  "  Persuade  the  people."  Polycarp 
answered,  "  To  thee  have  I  offered  to  give  a  reason  of  my  faith  :  for 
so  are  we  taught  to  pay  all  due  honour  (such  only  excepted  as  would 
be  hurtful  to  ourselves)  to  the  powers  and  authorities  which  are  ordained 
of  God.  But  for  the  people  I  esteem  them  not  worthy  that  I  should 
give  any  account  of  my  faith*  to  them." 

XI.  The  proconsul  continued,  and  said  unto  him,  "  I  have  wild 
beasts  ready:  to  those  I  will  cast  thee,  except  thou  repent."  He 
answered,  "Call  for  them,  then;  for  we  Christians  are  fixed  in  our 
minds  not  to  change  from  good  to  evil.     But  for  me  it  will  be  good, 

a  They  spake  bitter  ivords.  b  Getting  out  of  the  chariot.  e  Atheists.  d  Make  an 
apology. 


144  CIRCULAR    EPISTLE    CONCERNING   THE 

to  he  changed  from  evil  to  good."*  The  proconsul  added,  "  Seeing 
thou  despisest  the  wild  beasts,  I  will  cause  thee  to  be  devoured  by  fire, 
unless  thou  shah  repent."  Polycarp answered,  "Thou  threatenestme 
with  fire  which  burns  for  an  hour,  and  so  Is  extinguished  ;  hut  knowest 

not  the  fire  of  the  future  ju  and  of  that  eternal  punishment 

which  is  reserved  for  llic  ungodly.  But  why  tarriest  thou?  Bring 
forth  what  thou  wilt." 

XII.  Having  said  this,  and  many  other  things  of  the  like  nature,  he 
was  filled  with  confidence  and  joy,  insomuch  that  his  very  counte- 
nance was  full  of  grace ;  so  that  he  did  not  only  not  let  it  fall  with  anv 
confusion'-  at  what  was  spoken  to  him,  but  on  the  contrary,  the  pro- 
consul was  struck  with  astonishment,  and  sent  his  crier  into  the  middle 
of  the  lists,  to  proclaim  three  several  times — «  Polycarp  has  confessed 
himself  to  be  a  Christian."  Which  being  done  by  the  crier,  the 
whole  multitude,  both  of  the  Gentiles  and  of  the  Jews  which  dwelt 
at  Smyrna,  being  full  of  fury,  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  "  This  is 
the  doctor  of  Asia/  the  father  of  the  Christians,  and  the  overth rower 
of  our  gods  ;  he  that  has  taught  so  many  not  to  sacrifice,  nor  pay  any 
worship  to  the  gods."  And  saying  this,  they  cried  out,  and  desired 
Philip  the  asiarch/  that  he  would  let  loose  a  lion  against  Polycarp. 
But  Philip  replied  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  dosO,  because  that 
kind  of  spectacle  was  already  over.c  Then  it  pleased  them  to  cry  out 
with  one  consent  that  Polycarp  should  be  burnt  alive.  For  so  it  was 
necessary  that  the  vision  should  be  fulfilled  which  was  made  mai 
unto  him  by  his  pillow,  when,  seeing  it  on  fire  as  he  was  praying,  he 
turned  about,  and  said  prophetically  to  the  faithful  that  were  with  him, 
«  I  must  be  burnt  alive." 

XIII.  This,  therefore,  was  done  with  greater  speed  than  it  was 
spoke :  the  whole  multitude  instantly  gathering  together  wood  and 
fagots,  out  of  the  shops  and  baths;  the  Jews  especially,  according  to 
their  custom,  with  all  readiness  assisting  them  in  it.  When  the  fuel 
was  ready,  Polycarp,  laying  aside  all  his  upper  garments,  and  undoing 
his  girdle,  tried  also  to  pull  off  his  clothes  underneath,  which  afore- 
time he  was  not  won!  to  do;  forasmuch  as  always  every  one  of  the 
Christians  that  was  about  him  contended  who  should  soonest  touch  his 
flesh.      For/  he  was  trulv  adorned   by  his  <;<mu1   conversation  with  all 

kind  of  piety/  even  before  his  martyrdom.     This  being  done,  they 

presently  put  about  him  BUCh  things1   as  v.  .  to  prepare  the 

a  The  mnanjnq:  i- — To  be  tmnalated  from  cthal  i>  grierooj  and  bard  t.>  lufler  h 
thejuol  reward  of  my  rafleringi  in  the  other  world.        b.h  troubUdm  "8o 

Eufebine,  Baffin,  Vet  Interpr.  Lei.  dec.     Vid.  Uaeer.  not    it.        'Whowi 
of  the  ■pocterfoe.  the  chief  pried  for  the!  year,    s,  <■  Uma.  Annot  numb.  46.     I 

!>.  68,  64.        'Ilr  had  erreadj  fulfilled,  orfiruahed,tht  baiting  of  dog*        fVid. 

alitor  a[>u<l  Bofeb.  L   !▼.  C  16.      la  in  ruin  Valet  Annot.  p.  64, 

that  teas  good.  *  Inffrnrncntf. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    POLYCARP.  145 

fire.*  But  when  they  would  have  also  nailed  him  to  the  stake,  he 
said,  "Let  me  alone  as  I  am :  for  he  who  has  given  me  strength  to 
endure  the  fire  will  also  enable  me,  without  your  securing  me  by  nails, 
to  stand  without  moving  in  the  pile." 

XIV.  Wherefore  they  did  not  nail  him,  but  only  tied  him  to  it.  But 
he,  having  put  his  hands  behind  him — and  being  bound  as  a  ram 
chosen  out  of  a  great  flock  for  an  offering,  and  prepared  to  be  a  burnt- 
sacrifice  acceptable  unto  God — looked  up  to  heaven  and  said,  "  0  Lord 
God  Almighty,  the  Father  of  thy  well-beloved  and  blessed  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  thee  ;  the  God  of 
angels  and  powers,  and  of  every  creature,  and  especially  of  the  whole 
race  of  just  men  who  live  in  thy  presence!  I  give  thee  hearty  thanks 
that  thou  hast  vouchsafed  to  bring  me  to  this  day,  and  to  this  hour ; 
that  I  should  have  a  part  in  the  number  of  thy  martyrs,  in  the  cup  of 
thy  Christ,  to  the  resurrection  of  eternal  life,  both  of  soul  and  body, 
in  the  incorruption  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  among  which  may  I  be  accepted 
this  day  before  thee,  as  a  fat  and  acceptable  sacrifice :  as  thou  the  true 
God,  with  wThom  is  no  falsehood,  hast  both  before  ordained  and  mani- 
fested unto  me,  and  also  hast  now  fulfilled  it.  For  this  and  for  all 
things  else,  I  praise  thee,  I  bless  thee,  I  glorify  thee,"  by  the  eternal 
and  heavenly  high-priest,  Jesus  Christ,  thy  beloved  Son;  with  whom, 
to  thee,  and c  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  glory,  both  now  and  to  all  succeeding 
ages.     Amen." 

XV.  He  had  no  sooner  pronounced  aloud  Amen>  and  finished  his 
prayer,  but  they  who  were  appointed  to  be  his  executioners  lighted  the 
fire.  And  when  the  flame  began  to  blaze  to  a  very  great  height,  be- 
hold, a  wronderful  miracle  appeared  to  us  who  had  the  happiness  to  see 
it,  and  who  were  reserved  by  heaven  to  report  to  others  what  had  hap- 
pened. For  the  flame,  making  a  kind  of  arch,  like  the  sail  of  a  ship 
filled  writh  the  wind,  encompassed,  as  in  a  circle,  the  body  of  the  holy 
martyr,  who  stood  in  the  midst  of  it  not  as  if  his  flesh  were  burnt,  but  as 
bread  that  is  baked,  or  as  gold  or  silver  glowing  in  the  furnace.  More- 
over, so  sweet  a  smell  came  from  it  as  if  frankincense,  or  some  rich 
spices,  had  been  smoking  there. 

XVI.  At  length,  when  those  wicked  men  saw  that  his  body  could 
not  be  consumed  by  the  fire,  they  commanded  the  executioner d  to  go 
near  to  him,  and  stick  his  dagger  in  him  ;  which  being  accordingly 
done,  there  came  forth  so  great  a  quantity  of  blood,'  as  even  extinguished 
the  fire,  and  raised  an  admiration  in  all  the  people,  to  consider  what  a 
difference  there  was  between  the  infidels  and  the  elect ;  one  of  which 


°  The  pile  that  was  to  burn  him. — See  Vales,  in  Euseb.  p.  64,  13.  *  Euscb.  et  Vet 

Lat.  Interp.  «In  the  H.  G.  Euseb.  d  Kofi-pUropa.      Vid.  Annot.  Usser.  num.  75. 

Vales,  understands  by  it  one  of  the  hncemen  that  wore  set  to  kill  the  beasts  if  they  grewr 
unruly  at  these  kinds  of  spectacles.     Vid.  in  Euseb.  p.  64,  C.         ■  So  Eusebius. 

19  N 


146  CIRCULAR   EPISTLE    CONCERNING    THE 

great  martyr,  Polycarp,  most  certainly  was,  being  in  our  times  a 
truly  apostolical  and  prophetical  teacher,  and  bishop  of  the  catholic 
church  which  is  at  Smyrna.     For  every  word  that  went  out  of  his 

mouth  cither  has  been  already  fulfilled,  or  in  its  due  time  will  be  ac- 
complished. 

X\  II.  But  when  the  emulous,  and  envious,  and  wieked  adversary 
of  the  race  of  thejust,  saw  the  greatness  of  bifl  martyrdom,  and  con- 
sidered how  irreprehensible  his  conversation  had  been  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  how  he  was  now  crowned  with  the  crown  of  immortality, 
having  without  all  controversy  received  his  reward,  he  took  all  possible 
care  that  not  the  Least  remainder  of  his  body  should  be  taken  away  by 
us,  although  many  desired  to  do  it,  and  to  be  made  partakers  of  his 
holy  flesh.  And  to  that  end,  he  suggested  it  to  Nicetas,  the  father  of 
II  I  and  brother  of  Alee,  to  go  to  the  governor,  and  hinder  him 
from  giving  us  his  body  to  be  buried.  "Lest,"  says  he,  "  forsaking 
him  that  was  crucified,  they  should  begin  to  worship  this  Polycarp." 
And  this  he  said  at  the  suggestion  and  instance  of  the  Jews,  who  also 
watched  us,  that  we  should  not  take  him  out  of  the  fire  ;  not  consider- 
ing" that  neither  is  it  possible  for  us  ever  to  forsake  Christ,  who  suffered 
for  the  salvation  of  all  such  as  shall  be  saved  throughout  the  whole  world, 
"  the  righteous  for  the  ungodly  ;m  nor  worship  any  other  besides  him. 
For  him,  indeed,  as  being  the  Son  of  God,  we  do  adore  ;  but  for  the 
martyrs  we  worthily  love  them,  as  the  disciples  and  followers0  of  our 
Lord,  and  upon  the  account  of  their  exceeding  great  affection  towards 
their J  Master,  and  their  King;  of  whom  may  we  also  be  made  com- 
panions and  fellow-disciples. 

Will.  The  centurion,  therefore,  seeing  the  contention  of  the  Jews, 
put  his  body  into  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  so  consumed  it. 
which,  we  taking  up  his  bones,  more  precious  than  the  richest  jewels, 
and  tried  above  L,r<>ld,  deposited  them  where  it  was  fitting  :  where, 
beinggathered  together  as  we  have  opportunity,  with  joy  and 
the  Lord  shall  grant  unto  us  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  his  martyr- 
dom, both  in  memory  of  those  who  have  Buffered,  and  lor  the  exercise 
ami  preparation  of  those  that  may  hereafter  sutler. 

XIX.  Such  was  the  passion  .,|'  the  blessed  Polycarp,  who,  though 
he  w.s  the  twelfth  of  those  who,    together  with   those  Of  Philadelphia, 

suffered  martyrdom,  i^  ie  chiefly  had  in  memory  ^(  all  men; 

insomuch  that  he  is  spoi  tiles  themselves,  in  i 

place,  as  having  been  not  only  an  eminent  teacher,  but  also  a  glorious 
martyr;  whose  death4  all  desire  to  imitate,  as  having  I  j  way 

conformable  to  the  gospel  of  Christ.     For  having  bj  patii  nee  01  ercome 
the  unjust  governor,  and  so  received  the  crown  of  immortality,  he  now, 

°  Knotting.  M   IVl.  lii.  18.  '  i  ;  ' ';  '  MarlyxLtn. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    ST.    POLYCARP.  147 

together  with  the  apostles,  and  all  other  righteous  men  who  have  gone 
before,  with  great  triumph  glorifies  God,  even  the  Father,  and  blesses 
our  Lord,  the  governor  both  of  our  souls"  and  bodies,  and  shepherd  of 
the  catholic  church  which  is  over  all  the  earth. 

XX.  Whereas,  therefore,  ye  desired  that  we  would  at  large  declare 
to  you  what  was  done,  we  have  for  the  present  given  you  a  summary 
account  of  it  by  our  brother  Marcus.  Having,  therefore,  your- 
selves read  this  epistle,  you  may  do  well  to  send  it  forward  to  the 
brethren  that  are  farther  off,  that  they  also  may  glorify  God,  who  makes 
such  choice  of  his  own  servants,  and  is  able  to  bring  all  of  us,  by  his 
grace  and  help,  to  his  eternal  kingdom,  through  his  only-begotten  Son 
Jesus  Christ ;  to  whom  be  glory  and  honour,  and  power,  and  majesty, 
for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. — Salute  all  the  saints ;  they  that  are  with  us 
salute  you  ;  and  Evarestus,  who  wrote  this  epistle,  with  his  whole  house. 

XXI.  Now  the  suffering  of  the  blessed  Polycarp  was  the  second 
day  of  the  present  month  Xanthicus,  viz.  the  seventh  of  the  calends 
of  May  ;b  being  the  great  Sabbath,  about  the  eighth  hour.  He  was 
taken  by  Herod,  Philip  the  Tralian  being  high-priest  ;c  Statius  Quadra- 
tus,  proconsul :  but  our  Saviour  Christ  reigning  for  evermore:  To 
him  be  honour,  glory,  majesty,  and  an  eternal  throne,  from  generation 
to  generation.     Amen. 

XXII.  We  wish  you,  brethren,  all  happiness,  by  living  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ;  with  whom,  glory  be  to  God, 
the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  salvation  of  his  chosen  saints ; 
after  whose  example  the  blessed*  Polycarp  suffered  ;  at  whose  feet  may 
we  be  found  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 


AN  ADVERTISEMENT  RELATING  TO  THE  FOREGOING 

EPISTLE. 

This  Epistle  was  transcribed  by  Caius6  out  of  the  copy  of  Iren^eus, 
the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  also  lived  and  conversed  with  Irenaeus. 
And  I,  Socrates,  transcribed  it  at  Corinth,  out  of  the  copy  of  the  said 
Caius.     Grace  be  with  all. 

After  which  I,  Pionius,  again  wrote  it  from  the  copy  before  men- 
tioned ;  having  searched  it  out  by  the  revelation  of  Polycarp,  who 
directed  me  to  it ;  as  also  I  shall  declare  in  what  follows.  Having 
gathered  these  things  together,  now  almost  corrupted  through  process 
of  time,  that  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  may  also  gather  me  together  with 
his  elect;  to  whom,  with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  glory  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

°  Vid.  Cotelcr.  in  marg.  et  Vet.  Lat.  Intcrpr.  *  Rather  of  April.— See  Annot. 

Usscr.  n.  105,  et  Pearson.  Chron.  Diss.  11,  c.  18,  n.  4.  c  Asiarch.  d  As  the 

blessed,  &c.         •  Ad  finem  Exempl.  Usser.  p.  30. 


PREU  M I NARY  DISCOURSE 

M  hi  | 

CATHOLIC  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  BABNABAS. 

W'hv  thf  pieoei  thai  follow  in  put  in  a  Second  Part,  leptrate  from  the  foregoing — The 
htoarj  tifSt.  Barnabas,  chiefij  from  tin-  Acts  of  the  Apostlee — Of  nil  name,  edn 
ami  tr.iv.  is.  tupnriillj  with  St.  Paul — How  be  came  to  be  tenanted  from  thai  ■poetic — 
What  he  <lnl  afterward* — Of  hia  death,  ami  the  invention  of  his  relics;  and  of  the 
Cyprian  prmlegee established  on  that  account — Of  the  present  epistle;  thai  i'  was 
trolv  written  l>\  8ti  Bomaba* — The  principal  objections  against  it  answered — An 
apoloirv  for  its  allegorical  interpretations  of  Bcripton — The  latter  |>urt  of  it  originally 
b*U*ng*ng  to  this  epistk — That  it  was  written  alter  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem — The 
n  and  usefulness  of  it. 

1.  When  I  first  entered  upon  the  design  of  publishing  the  present 
collection,  I  intended  to  have  here  put  an  end  to  it: — the  following 
pieces,  under  the  names  of  Barnabas  and  Hermas,  together  with  the 
second  epistle  of  St.  Clement,  (however  undoubtedly  very  ancient,  and 
confess  (1  by  all  to  come  but  little,  if  any  thing,  short  of  the  apostolical 
times,)  having  yet  neither  been  so  highly  esteemed  among  the  ancients, 
nor  so  generally  received  by  many  of  the  present  times,  as  those  I  have 
already  mentioned.      But  when   I  considered   the   deference  which 

-  among  the  primitive  fathers  have  paid  to  them,  and  the  value 
which  is  still  put  upon  them  by  many  not  inferior  either  in  learning  or 

to  those  who  speak  against  them,  I  thought  I  could  not  better 
satisfy  all,  than  by  adding  them  in  a  second  part  to  the  foregoing  epis- 
tles; that  so  both  they  who  have  a  just  esteem  for  them  might  not 
complain  of  being  defrauded  of  any  part  of  what  remains  o(  the  apos- 
tolical writings;  and  those  who  are  otherwise  minded  migh(  look  upon 
th.  in  as  standing  in  a  second  rank,  and  not  taking  place  (which  they 
otherwise  must  have  done)  of  those  undoubtedly  genuine  and  admira- 
ble discourses  that  make  up  the  former  part  of  this  work. 

2.  And  here  the  firs!  piece  that  occurs  is  the  Catholic  Epistle  of  s 

Barnabas,  the  companion  of  St.  Paul,  and  disciple  of  our  Saviour 
Christ ;  t»«  >ing  generally  esteemed  to  have  been  our  of  the  seventy"  thai 

were  ch<»v<-n  bf  him  :  however,  our  COUntrj  man  Bede1  calls  the  verdict 

of  antiquity  in  question  as  to  this  matter,  upon  this  account,  bee 

St.  Luke  (Acts  iv.)  seemeth  to  intimate  that  he  first  came  to  the  ■ 
ties  after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  and  then  embraced  the  Chris 
faith.     To  this  it  may  be  added  that  he  is  there  called  i  Levite  of 

•Clem.  AleS.  Stn.m.  lit.,  ii.  j..  410.  Eusck  lii^U  Bed*,  lit',  i.  Mf>  l*i  «'1  18* 
a.  cap.  1.  *  In  Act.  iv. 

148 


OF    THE    EPISTLE    OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  149 

Cyprus,  not  one  of  the  seventy  disciples,  which  would  have  been  much 
more  for  his  honour  to  have  been  mentioned.  The  mistake  of  Clemens 
Alexandrinus,  &c,  if  it  were  one,  seems  to  have  arisen  from  hence, 
that  Joseph  Barsabas,  or  as  other  MSS.  have  it,  Joses  Barnabas,  the 
competitor  of  St.  Matthias,  Acts  i.,  (as  on  the  contrary  some  MSS.  Acts 
iv.  have  Joseph  Barsabas,)  who  probably  was  of  the  seventy,  as  well 
as  Matthias,  was  confounded  by  them  with  our  Barnabas ;  of  whom, 
whatever  becomes  as  to  his  discipleship,  this  we  are  sure,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  St.  Luke,  has  left  us  this  advantageous  character  of 
him,  Acts  xi.  24,  "  That  he  was  a  good  man,  full  of  faith,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

3.  It  is  not  my  design  to  enter  on  any  long  account  of  the  life  of  a 
person  so  largely  spoken  of  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  of  whom  little 
certain  can  be  written,  besides  what  is  there  recorded.  His  country 
was  Cyprus,  a  famous  island  in  the  Mediterranean  sea ;  where  there 
inhabited  in  those  days  so  great  a  number  of  Jews,  that  in  the  time 
of  Trajan/  they  conspired  against  the  Gentiles,  and  slew  of  themb  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  men.  Upon  which  being  cast  out  of  the 
isle,  they  were  never  suffered  upon  any  account  to  set  foot  again  in  it, 
upon  pain  of  death. 

4.  His  name  was  at  first  Joses,  but  by  the  apostles  changed  into 
Barnabas;  which  being  interpreted,  says  St.  Luke,  is  the  So?i  of  Con- 
solation ;  and,  as  we  may  conjecture  from  the  place0  where  it  was  first 
mentioned,  was  given  him  by  the  apostles,  as  an  honourable  acknow- 
ledgment of  his  charity  in  selling  his  whole  estate  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  Christians,  and  upon  the  account  of  that  consolation  which  they 
received  thereby. 

5.  His  first  education,  Metaphrastesd  tells  us,  was  at  the  feet  of  Ga- 
maliel, by  whom  he  was  instructed,  together  with  St.  Paul ;  which 
perhaps  moved  that  great  apostle,  upon  his  conversion,  to  apply  him- 
self to  him,  as  the  properest  person  to  introduce  him  into  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  other  apostles ;  and  afterwards  to  embrace  him  as  his  chief 
friend  and  fellow-labourer  in  the  work  of  the  gospel.  For  they  are 
both  mentioned  (Acts  xi.  26)  "  to  have  taught  much  people  at  Antioch ;" 
and  that  for  a  whole  year  together;  and  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  are 
numbered  among  the  prophets  and  teachers  of  the  Christian  church 
there,  verse  2,  where  we  read  that  they  did  ^.ntovpyscv  rJ  Kr.xco,  which 
some  in  a  special  manner  interpret  of  the  celebration  of  the  holy  eucha- 
rist.  Here,  then,  we  find  them  both,  by  teaching  and  administering 
that  blessed  sacrament,  discharging  the  work  of  a  priest,  or  presbyter, 
as  we  now  understand  that  word.     But  they  still  wanted  the  apostoli- 

°Euscb.  Chron.  ail  aim.  cxvii.  b  Dion.  lib.  lxviii.     Xiphiline,  &c.  r  Acts  iv 

36,  37.         dApud  Baron.  Annal.  ad  ann.  xxiv.  num.  262,  Comp.  Dr.  Cave,  in  his  Life, 
num.  2. 

n2 


150  PRELIMINARY   DISCOURSE. 

cal,  or  episcopal  character;  by  riltue  of  which  they  might  do  that  ordi- 
narily which,  as  prophets,  they  I  only  do  in  extraordinary  cases, 
and  byan  expi  rionofthe  Holy  Spirit;  namely,  found  churches^ 

and  ordain  eldert  or  bishops  in  every  plai  dignity,  therefore, 

.  m  n  •■'  ived,  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the 
other  three  prophets  here  mentioned;  namely,  Simeon  Niger,  Lucius 
..me,  ami  Manage,  Acts  \iii.  :i  And  from  thenceforth,  not  only 
their  title  was  changed,  (they  being  afterwards  called  spot 
xiv.  4,  and  1  l,j  but  they  exercised  another  sort  of  power,  "  Ordained 
elders  in  ever)  church,"  verse  23.  Tims  was  Barnabas, together  with 
St.  Paul,  first  a  teacher  and  a  prophet ;  then  consecrated  to  be  a  bishop, 
or  an  apostle:  according  to  the  order  which  our  Lord  himself  had 
appointed,  that  there  should  be  in  his  church,  first,  apostles;  secondly, 
prophets;  thirdly,  teachers,  1  Cor.  xii.  29;  which  those,  therefore, 
would  do  well  to  consider,  who  thrust  themselves  at  once  into  the 
highest  .station  and  full  power  of  the  church,  not  allowing  distinct  de- 
grees of  the  same,  nor,  by  consequence,  successive  ordinations,  or 
consecrations  to  it.  Whereas  St.  Paul,  though  he  was  called  to  be  an 
apostle,  "not  by  man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ"  himself,  (Galat  i.)  was 
crated  to  be  an  apostle  by  the  ordinary  form  of  imposition  of 
hands,  after  he  had  preached  in  the  church  for  some  time  before. 

(>.  How  these  two  apostles  travelled  together,  and  what  they  did  in 
the  discharge  of  their  ministry,  is  at  large  set  down,  both  by  St.  Luke* 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  by  St.  Paul*  himself  in  his  epistle  to 
i  ralatians:  in  which  we  have  the  history  of  men  truly  concerned 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  and  despising  not  only  their  i 
but  their  very  lives  themselves  in  comparison  of  it.  .Many  a  weary 
journey  did  they  take,  and  danger  did  they  run  :  they  preached  in  the 
day;  and,  when  they  had  so  done,  they  wrought  with  their  own  hands 
in  the  night  for  their  subsistence  ;  that  so  they  might  not  be  burden- 
some to  any,  nor  seem  to  seek  their  own  advantage,  but  the  profit  of 

tlc>c  to  whom  they  tendered  the  gospel. 

7.    Among  other  countries  to  which  they  went,  we  are  told  that  one 

of  the  first  was  Cyprus,  the  native  island  of  St.  Barnabas:  and  that  not 
of  their  own  motion,  but  by  the  express  order  and  appointment  of  the 
II    .  Ghost.     How  they  prevailed  there,  and  by  what  miracles  they 

the  conversion  of  it,  first  at  Salamis,  then  at  Paphi  s 
are  si  large  informed  by  St.  Luke,  Acts  siii.    Prom  thence  they  retched 

compass  through  the  Lessei  Asia;  and  having,  with 

various    BUCCeSS,   poached    to    Several    cities   of  it,  after'    about   three 
I1  travel   they  Bgain  returned   to  Antinch  in   Syria,  the  pi. ice  from 
which  the}  first  set  out. 

\m  mm.  \iv.  w.        i  (j.il.  ii.         « Ussfr.  OhroooL  unn.  l.").  U  .    I'  .  Anna!. 

Paulin.  ml  aim.  1^. 


OF    THE   EPISTLE    OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  151 

8.  Here  they  tarried  a  considerable  space,  in  a  sedulous  discharge 
of  their  ministry ;  till  some  controversies  arising  between  the  Jewish 
and  the  Gentile  converts,  they  were  obliged,  for  the  better  composing 
of  them,  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem ;  wThere  a  final  end  was  put  to  them, 
by  aa  synodical  decree  of  the  apostles  and  elders  assembled  together 
for  that  purpose. 

9.  With  joy  they  returned  to  their  disciples  at  Antioch,  and  brought 
the  determination  of  that  divine  synod  unto  them.  But  it  was  not  long 
ere  St.  Peter  coming  down  after  them,  a  little  abated  their  satisfaction : 
whilst,6  to  please  the  Jewish  converts,  he  dissembled  his  Christian 
liberty,  and,  as  St.  Paul  complains,  led  Barnabas  also  into  the  same 
dissimulation  with  him. 

10.  And  here  St.  Paul  had  occasion,  first  of  all,  to  reprove  St.  Bar- 
nabas, wThich  he  did  with  great  freedom,  for  his  unseasonable  com- 
pliance. But  it  was  not  very  long  before  he  had  another  occasion 
offered  for  a  yet  worse  contention  with  him :  for  the  next  year,  these 
two  holy  menc  having  agreed  to  take  a  new  progress  together,  and  to 
visit  the  churches  which  they  had  planted  in  Asia  some  years  before, 
Barnabas  was  for  taking  his  cousin  Mark  again  with  them,  but  St. 
Paul  would  not  consent  to  it ;  because  that,  in  their  former  travels,  he 
had  too  much  consulted  his  own  ease  and  safety,  and  left*  them  at 
Pamphylia  in  the  midst  of  their  journey. 

11.  Being  both  resolute  in  their  opinions,  the  one  to  take  Mark,  his 
kinsman,  with  him,  the  other  not  to  yield  to  it,  they  not  only  came  to 
some  sharp  words  with  one  another  about  it,  but  went  their  several 
ways,6  Barnabas  with  Mark  to  Cyprus,  and  Paul  with  Silas  into  Syria 
and  Cilicia.  Thus,  after  a  joint  labour  in  their  ministry  for  almost 
fourteen  years,  wTere  these  two  excellent  men,  by  a  small  punctilio, 
separated  from  one  another :  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  intending  hereby 
to  show  us  that  the  best  Christians  are  still  subject  to  the  same  infir- 
mities with  other  men ;  and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  either  too  much 
exalted  in  the  conceit  of  their  own  piety,  or  to  despise  others  whom 
they  suppose  to  be  less  perfect  than  themselves. 

12.  Nor  was  it  a  small  benefit  which  from  hence  accrued,  not  only 
to  the  church,  which  thereby  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  these  two  great 
men  much  more  in  their  separate  labours  than  if  they  had  continued 
still  together,  but  particularly  to  St.  Mark,  who  being,  by  the  severity 
of  St.  Paul,  brought  to  a  deep  sense  of  his  former  indifference  in  the 
work  of  the  gospel,  and  yet  not  left  by  St.  Barnabas  to  give  way  to 
any  desperate  resolutions  thereupon,  became  afterwards  a  most  useful 
minister  of  Christ,  and  deserved  not  only  to  be  made  again  the  com- 
panion' of  St.  Paul,  but  to  receive  a  very  high  testimony  of  his  zeal* 

"  Acts  xv.  Comp.  GaL  ii.  *  Gal.  ii.  11,  14.  e  Acts  xv.  3G.  Ann.  Christi  50. 

Pearson,  53.     Qsserius.  dAets  xiii.  13.  •  Acts  xv.  39,41.  /Coloss.  iv.  10. 

e  2  Tim.  iv.  1 1. 


152  PRELIMINARY   DI8C0TJ1  - 

from  him.  So  well  does  the  wisdom  of  God  know  how  to  turn  the 
infirmities  of  men  to  hisown  glory, and  to  the  good  of  those  who  serve 
him  with  an  honesl  and  nprighl  I 

13.  Whal  became  of  St.  Barnabas  after  this,  and  whither  he  went, 
v  uncertain.  "Some  tell  os,  that  from  Cyprus  he  went  on  to 
Rome,  and  preached  the  gospel  there,  even  before  St  Peter  came 
thither.  Bat  though  Baronius  can  by  no  means  allow  of  this,  yel  is 
he  content  thai  Barnabas  should  be  thought  to  have  come  thither  after 
him.  At  least  this  he  pretends*  to  be  without  dispute,  th  il  St.  Barna- 
lame  into  Italy,  and  preached  the  gospel  in  Liguria ;  where  he 
founded  the  famous  church  of  Milan,  "as  from  many  ancient  monu- 
;md  writers,"  says  he,  «  might  be  made  appear;"  though  at  the 
same  time  be  produces  not  one  testimony  in  proof  it.  I  shall  therefore 
conclude,  till  I  am  better  informed,  that  St.  Barnabas  spent  the  remains 
of  his  life  in  converting  his  own  countrymen,  the  Jews;  of  which,  as  I 
have  before  observed,  there  were  such  vast  numbers  in  that  island, 
and  for  whom  we  cannot  but  think  he  must  have  had  a  very  tender 
regard.  Or,  if  we  shall  suppose  him  to  have  gone  any  farther,  I  pre- 
sume it  was  only  into  the  neighbouring  parts  of  the  Lesser  Asia  and 
Judea,  where  he  had  before  preached  ;  or  at  farthest  into  Egypt/  where 
some  tell  US,  he  went,  and  consecrated  his  nephew,  St.  Mark,  the  first 
bishop  of  the  Christian  church  at  Alexandria. 

1  1.  An  I  in  this  opinion  I  am  the  rather  confirmed  from  the  conside- 
ration of  his  epistle,  which  I  have  here  subjoined  ;  which  seems  mani- 
festly to  ha\e  been  designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  Jews:  and  to  show 
how  all  the  parts  of  their  law  had  a  farther  spiritual  meaning  than  what 
at  first  Bight  appeared,  and  were  designed  to  lead  them  to  the  faith  and 
piety  of  the  gospel. 

15.  In  this  exercise,  therefore,  he  most  likely  spent  his  life;  and, 
if  we  may  credit  the  relation  of  the  monkd  in  Surius,  who  writes  the 

;  this  holy  evangelist,  at  last  Buffered  martyrdom  in  the  pros 
tion  of  it ;  being  at- the  instigation  of  certain  Jews  that  came  from  Syria 
to  Salamis  shut  up  in  a  synagogue  where  he  was  disputing  with  them, 
and  al  night  stoned  by  them.  What  truth  there  is  in  this  Btorj  I  cannot 
tell ;  but  this  I  must  observe,  which  Baronius'  himself  is  forced  I 
knowledge,  that  there  is  nothing  of  this  kind  to  be  met  with  in  any 
ancient  author;  nordoes  either  Eusebiua  i  r  s'.  Jerome/ where  they 

treat  expre88ly  of  thifl  holy  man,  BO  much  as  once  give  the  title  of  mar- 
tyr to  bim, 

18.  But  whatever  were  the  mannei   of  N'.  Barnabas's  death,  yet 


«  focognh.  Clem,  apod  Baron.  Annal.  ad  urn.  51,  di  N         '  M  irt- 

Horn.  Jon.  m.  l  ii'"l-  Anna!,  num.  "- 1.  '  \  id.  m  \  it.  ejua,  Edit  Oxon.  Epiet  p. 

d  Alexandr.  Monaco.  Bacon.  Baroa  '  Baron.  AnnaL  nun.  51,  n 

f  li..'....  8    /.in  Baroab. 


OF    THE    EPISTLE    OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  153 

famous  is  the  story  of  the  invention  of  his  relics,  delivered  by  the  same 
monk ;  who,  as  Baronius"  tells  us,  lived  at  the  same  time  under  Zeno 
the  emperor;  and  confirmed  by  the  concurrent  testimonies6  of  Theo- 
dorus,  Nicephorus,  Cedrenus,  Sigebert,  Marianus  Scotus,  and  others. 
With  what  ceremony  this  was  performed,  and  how  this  blessed  saint 
appeared  twice  to  Anthemius,  then  bishop  of  Salamis,  in  order  to  the 
discovery  of  his  own  relics ;  and  how  the  emperor  commanded  a  stately 
church  to  be  built  over  the  place  of  his  burial,  I  shall  leave  it  to  those 
who  are  fond  of  such  stories,  to  read  at  large  in  Baronius,''  and  the 
monk*  whom  I  have  before  mentioned.  It  will  be  of  more  concern 
to  take  notice,  that  Nilus  Doxapater6  tells  us  that  this  very  thing  was 
the  ground  of  the  Cyprian  privileges :  where,  speaking  of  certain  pro- 
vinces that  depended  not  upon  any  of  the  greater  patriarchates,  he  in- 
stances first  of  all  in  Cyprus;  "  which,"  says  he,  "  continues  free,  and 
is  subject  to  none  of  the  patriarchs,  because  of  the  apostle  Barnabas 
being  found  in  it."  And  the  same  is  the  account  which  Nicephorus/ 
also  gives  us  of  it ;  and  which  was  assigned  before  in  the  Notitia* 
ascribed  to  Leo,  as  I  find  it  quoted  by  Monsieur  Le  Moyne,  in  his 
preface  to  his  late  collection  of  several  ancient  pieces  relating  to  eccle- 
siastical antiquity. 

17.  Together  with  his  body  wTas  found,  says  Alexander,71  the  gospel 
of  St.  Matthew,  written  in  the  Hebrew7  tongue,  lying  upon  his  breast ; 
but  Nilus*  says  that  of  his  kinsman  St.  Mark.  Which  of  the  two  it 
was,  or  wmether  any  thing  of  all  this  was  more  than  a  mere  story,  con- 
trived by  Anthemius  to  get  the  better  of  Peter,  patriarch  of  Antioch,  I 
shall  not  undertake  to  determine.  It  is  enough  that  we  are  assured 
that  by  this  means"  he  not  only  preserved  his  privileges  against  Peter, 
but  got  his  see  confirmed  by  the  emperor  as  an  independent  see:  which 
was  also  afterwards  again  done  by  Justinian,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
empress  Theodora,  who  was  herself  a  Cyprian. 

18.  But  to  return  to  that  which  is  more  properly  the  business  of 
these  reflections ;  it  does  not  appear  that  St.  Barnabas  left  any  more 
in  writing  than  the  epistle  I  have  here  subjoined.  Some  indeed  there 
were  heretofore  who  thought  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  writ- 
ten by  him.  Tertullian1  confidently  quotes  it  as  his  :  nor  does  St.  Hie- 
rome'"  censure  him  for  it,  but  leaves  it  as  a  doubt  whether  it  should  be 
ascribed  to  him,  or  to  St.  Luke,  St.  Clement,  or  St.  Paul :  though  he 
seems  rather  to  incline  to  St.  Paul.  But  that  this  is  a  mistake,  and  that 
St.  Paul  was  indeed  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  has  been 

0  Baron.  Annal.  ann.  485.  *Id.  Annot.  ad  Martyrol.  Rom.  .Tun.  xi.  eAnnal. 

ann.  485.         d  Apud  Surium,  Jun.  xi.  torn.  iii.  c  Vid.  Lc  Moyne,  Var.  Sacr.  torn.  i. 

p.  236.        /  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  xvi.  c.  37.  s  Vid.  Le  Moyne,  Prolegom.  ad  Var.  Sacr. 

h  Alex.  Monach.  loc.  citat.     So  Theodorus  Lector,  Collect,  lit),  ii.  p.  184.  *  Nilttfl 

Doxap.  inter  Var.  Sacr.  p.  236.  *  Baron.  Annul,  loc.  supr.  citat.  l  Tertull.  do 

Pudicit.  c.  20.         m  De  Script.  Eccles.  in  S.  Paulo. 
20 


154  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

largely  and  learnedly  proved  by  Or.  Mills,  in  his  Prolegomena  to 
tii.-  NCw  Testament,  bo  bj  to  put  that  matter  beyond  all  doubt.  As  for 
the  present  epistle,  it  is  certain  tli.it  several  of  the  ancient  fathers  took 
it  to  be  undoubtedly  of  St  Barnabas's  writing.  Clemens  Alexandri- 
nns* quotes  it  as  Mich,  both  in  his  Stromata,  yel  extant,  and  in  his  lost 
books  ofHypotyposes,  as  is  remarked  by  Eusebius  in  bis  Ecclesiastical 
II  Origen"  calls  it  the  Catholic  epi  without  the 

least  intimation  of  any  doubt  about  it,  as  he  uses  to  give  when  he 
qnoteth  other  apocryphal  books;  as  those  of  Hermas,  of  which  more 
hereafter.  Others  indeed  of  the  fathers  seem,  if  not  to  have  denied 
that  this  epistle  was  written  by  Barnabas  the  apostle,  yet  at  least  to 
have  doubted  of  it.  Eusebius'  reckons  it  among  the  scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament  which  were  received  by  some,  and  contradicted  by 
others.     St.  Jerome'  reckons  it  among  the  apocryphal  books,  which 

not  put  into  the  canon  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  upon  the  account 
of  the  uncertainty  of  their  authors,  and  consequently  of  their  infallible 
authority. 

19.  Which  being  so,  I  cannot  but  wonder  at  some  in  our  own  times, 
who  without  any  better  grounds  peremptorily  pronounce  it  to  be  none 
of  St.  Barnabas's :  whereas  of  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  writers  who 
lived  much  nearer  the  age  of  our  author,  some  positively  affirmed  it ; 
and  though  some  others  doubted  of  it,  yet  none  plainly  denied  it ;  at 
least,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  did  so.  And  of  this  Cotelerius-f  seems 
to  have  been  sensible  ;  who  though  he  did  not  care  to  ascribe  it  to  the 
i  ibas  of  whom  we  are  now  discoursing,  yet  was  forced  to  suppose 
that  some  other  Barnabas  wrote  it ;  without  which  he  saw  there  could 
be  no  way  of  answering  the  concurrent  verdict  of  all  antiquity,  which 
has  universally  agreed  in  Barnabas  as  the  author  of  it.  But  now  who 
this  other  Barnabas  was,  or  that  in  those  times  there  was  any  such 
|  ;i,  he  pretends  not  to  tell  us  ;  and  they  who  ascribe  it  to  Barnabas, 
expressly  speak  of  him  as  the  same  of  whom  I  have  hitherto 
discoursing. e 

20.  But  of  all  others,  most  unaccountable  is  the  fancy  of  Monsieur 

Le  .Moyne*  concerning  the  author  of  this  epistle.      He   had  obfi 

that  in  several  Greek  manuscripts  it  was  immediately  continued  on 
with  that  of  St.  Polycarp;  ami  from  this  he  concludes  the  two  epistles 
to  have   been  written  by  St.   Polycarp;  whereas  in  truth,  bj 
chance  in  the  copy  from  which  the  rest  were  transcribed,  a  few  I 
lost,  containing  the  end  of  St.  Polycarp's  and  the  beginnin 
St.  Barnabas's  epistles;  bj  which  means  the  Greek  of  both  is  imper- 


°  \  i,i.  c.i.-Iit.  T.  -tim.  V.  PP,  I.        .  lh-t.  lib. *L c.  18, 14.  .contra 

('.•Num.  'Loccttat  '  Catalog.  Scriptor.  Ecclee.  et  lib.  xiii.  in  Back.  <  i 

1       L  Not  in  Bamab.  p.  '<.  B.  0.        ■  \  id.  Clemen.  Alex.  Huron,  dtc.  inlet  I 
1  tProleg.  in  \  ;ir.  Boer. in  Porycarpo. 


OF  THE   EPISTLE    OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  155 

feet.  But  all  the  Latin  copies  ascribing  this  letter  to  Barnabas,  and 
the  ancient  fathers  all  agreeing  to  the  same,  utterly  destroy  this  opinion  ; 
in  which  as  he  had  none  to  go  before  him,  so  I  believe  he  will  scarcely 
meet  with  any  to  follow  him." 

21.  Nor  are  the  arguments  which  they  bring  against  the  authority 
of  it  of  such  moment  as  to  overthrow  the  constant  testimonies  of  the 
ancients  on  its  behalf.  They  tell  us,  first,b  that  it  is  evident,  from  the 
sixteenth  chapter  of  this  epistle,  that  it  was  written  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  But  why  may  not  Barnabas  have  been  then  living, 
as  well  as  we  are  sure  St.  John,  and  several  others  of  the  companies 
of  the  apostles  were  ?  And  if  he  may  have  been  living  after  it,  why 
shall  not  we  suppose  that  he  was,  as  well  as  they  that  he  was  not  ? 
seeing  it  does  not  appear  from  the  testimony  of  any  ancient  writers 
when  he  died. 

22.  But,  secondly,0  they  argue  yet  farther  against  it.  «  For  if 
this,"  say  they,  «  be  the  genuine  Epistle  of  St.  Barnabas,  how  comes 
it  to  pass  that  it  is  not  received  as  canonical  ?  Certainly,  had  the 
primitive  Christians  believed  it  to  have  been  written  by  such  a  man, 
they  would  without  controversy  have  placed  it  among  the  sacred 
writings,  and  not  have  censured  it  as  of  doubtful  authority."  This  is, 
indeed,  a  very  specious  pretence;  but  which,  being  a  little  examined, 
will  be  found  to  have  no  strength  in  it :  it  being  certain  that  the  primi- 
tive fathers  *  did  own  this  for  St.  Barnabas's  epistle,  and  yet  not  receive 
it  into  their  canon;  and,  therefore,  it  does  not  follow,  that  had  they 
believed  it  to  have  been  his  they  must  have  esteemed  it  canonical. 

23.  What  rules  they  had,  or  by  what  measure  they  proceeded,  in 
those  first  times,  in  judging  of  the  canonical  scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  here  toe  inquire.  It  is  enough 
that  we  know  what  books  the  church  did  at  last  a^ree  in  as  comin^ 

o  o 

under  that  character.  And  for  the  rest — as  we  cannot  doubt  that  there 
was  a  due  care  taken  in  examining  into  a  matter  of  such  importance, 
and  that  those  primitive  fathers  did  not,  without  very  good  reason,  dis- 
tinguish those  that  were  written  by  Divine  inspiration  from  those  that 
were  not ;  so  we  are  very  sure  that  all  was  not  admitted  by  them  into 
the  rank  of  canonical  scripture  that  was  written  by  any  apostolical  man ; 
and  therefore  it  can  be  no  good  argument  that  Barnabas  was  not  the 
author  of  this  epistle  because  it  is  not  placed  among  the  sacred  writings 
of  the  New  Testament. 

24.  But  there  is  yet  one  objection  more,  and  that  much  insisted  upon 

aVid.  Tentzel.  Exercit.  Select,  de  Polyc.  sec.  38,  39;  Prtef.  Usser.  in  Edit.  Oxon.  S. 
Barnab.  p.  v.  b  Coteler.  Not.  in  Barnab.  p.  7.  C.  Natal.  Alex.  Hist.  Eccles.  torn.  1, 
sec.  1,  p.  100.     Le  Moyne  Prolog,  ad  Var.  Sacr.  'Coteler.  Not  in  Barn.  p.  5,  6. 

Natal.  Alex.  ibid.  Le  Moyne  Prolegom.  ad  Var.  Sacr.  <*  Vid.  Coteler.  Not.  in  Bar- 
nab. p.  6,  E.  7,  A.  ■  See  this  argument  more  fully  handled  by  the  learned  Dr.  Grabe, 
Spicileg.  sec.  ii.  p.  6,  7. 


156  PRELIMINARY    I  SE 

by  those  who  are  enemies  to  this  epistle.  They-  tell  us  it  is  full  of  a 
strange  sort  of  allegorical  int<  il  ly  Scripture;  and' 

fore  unworthy  to  be  fathered  upon  bo  evangelical  an  author.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  this,  we  find  Clemens  Alexandrinus  and  Origen, 
Kusebius  and  St.  Jerome,  (some  of  the  and  most  lea 

\s  of  those  ages  that  were  fin'  uearesl  t<>  the  time  in  which  it  was 
written,)  not  doubting  to  ascribe  it  to  St.  Barnabas,  and  to  think  it 

Worthy  too  of  such  an  author. 

25.  I  need  not  say  how  general  a  way  this  was  of  interp: 
Scripture,  in  the  time  that  St.  Barnabas  lived ;  to  omit  Origen,  who  has 
been  noted  as  excessive  in  it,  and  for  whom  yet  a  learned1  man  has 

vri\  lately  made  a  reasonable  apology,  who  has  ever  shown  a  more 
diffusive  knowledge  than  Clemens  Alexandrinus  has  done  in  all  his 
composures?  And  yet  in  his  works  we  find  the  very  same  method 
taken  of  interpreting  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  that  without  any 
reproach  either  to  his  learning  or  to  his  judgment.  What  author  has 
there  been  more  generally  applauded  for  his  admirable  piety  than  the 
other  Clement?  whose  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  1 1,  inserted; 

and  yet  even  in  that  plain  piece/'  we  meet  with  more  than  one  instance 
of  the  same  kind  of  interpretation,  which  was  nevertheless  admired  by 
the  best  and  most  primitive  Christians. 

26.  Even  St.  Paul"  himself,  in  his  epistles  received  by  us  as  canoni- 
cal, affords  not  a  few  instances  of  this,  which  is  so  much  found  fault 
with  in  St.  Barnabas  ;  as  I  might  easily  make  appear,  from  a  multitude 
of  passages  out  of  them,  were  it  needful  for  myself  on  a  point  which 
every  one  who  has  read  the  Scriptures  with  any  care  cannot  choose 
but  have  observed. 

27.  Now  that  which  makes  it  the  less  to  be  wondered  at  in  St.  Bar- 
nabas is,  that  the  'Jews,  of  which  number  he  himself  was  originally 
one,  and  to  whom  lie  wrote,  had  a  long  time  been  wholly  addicted  to 
this  way  of  interpreting  the  law;  and  taught  men  to  search  out  a  spirit- 
ual meaning  for  almost  all  the  ritual  commands  and  ceremonies  of  it 

This  is  plain  from  the   account  which  Alisteas'  has  let';  us  of  the  rules 

which  Kleazar  the  high-priest,  to  whom  Ptolemy  sent  for  a  copy  of  the 
him  for  the  understanding  of  it.     When — it  being 

objected  to  him,  "  That  their  legislator  seemed  to  have  been  too  curi- 
ous in  little  matters;  such  as  the  prohibition  of  meats  and  drinks,  and 
the  like,  for  which  there  appeared  DO  jusl  reason" — he  showed  him  at 

■■   That  there  W8fl  a  tardier  hidden  design  in  it   than  what  at  fust 


1  Not  :l,i  Barnab.  p.  :..  n.     NataL  Uex.     Hut  Fiorina  anr  l.tnm  i  r  1"° 

no,  ProL  id  li  u.  Kb.  u.  Quest  13,  p.   I  i  I 

'  \  ill.  AiMi.»t.  V.. -mi  m  Barnab.  p.  am.        * 8oe  1  Cor.  z.  1, 4.     Qalat  hr.  21.     I 
f.  81.     Hob.  i\.  B,  28,  -I  ;  \.   l.  ..  I         I     •.  do.  \  .  T. 

1  Apud  '  c  >i>.  '■'• 


OF    THE    EPISTLE   OF    ST.    lURNABAS.  157 

sight  appeared,  and  that  these  outward  ordinances  were  out  as  so 
many  cautions  to  them  against  such  vices  as  were  principally  meant  to 
be  forbidden  by  them."  And  then  goes  on  to  explain  this  part  of  the 
law,  after  the  same  manner  that  Barnabas  has  done,  in  the  following 
epistle. 

28.  But  this  is  not  all :  a  Eusebius  gives  us  yet  another  instance,  to 
confirm  this  to  us ;  viz.  of  Aristobulus,  who  lived  at  the  same  time, 
and  delivered  the  like  spiritual  meaning  of  the  law,  that  Eleazar  had 
done  before.  And  that  this  was  still  continued  among  the  Hellenisti- 
cal  Jews,  is  evident  from  the  account  that  is  left  us  by  one  of  them, 
who  was  contemporary  with  St.  Barnabas,  and  than  whom  none  has 
been  more  famous  for  this  way  of  writing  ;  I  mean  Philo,"  in  his  de- 
scription of  the  Therapeutce — whether  the  same  whom  in  the  beginning 
of  his  bookc  he  calls  by  the  name  of  Essenes,  as  Scaligerd  supposes  ;  or 
a  particular  sect  of  Jews,  as  Valesius*  will  have  it ;  or  lastly,  as  a  kind 
of  monkish  converts  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  as  Eusebius/  here- 
tofore described  them,  and  as  some  other  learned"  men  seem  rather  to 
conjecture.  But,  whatever  becomes  of  this,  herein  they  all  agree  that 
they  were  originally  Jews ;  and  therefore  we  may  be  sure  that  they 
followed  the  same  method  of  interpreting  the  Scripture  that  the  Alex- 
andrian Jews  were  wont  to  do. 

29.  Now  the  account  which  Eusebius,"  from  Philo,  gives  us  of  them, 
is  this.  "  Their  leaders,"  says  he,  "left  them  many  ancient  writings 
of  their  notions,  clothed  in  allegories."  And  again:  "They1  inter- 
pret the  Holy  Scriptures,  viz.  of  the  Old  Testament,  allegorically.  For 
you  must  know,"  continues  he,  "  that  they  liken  the  law  to  an  animal ; 
the  words  of  which  make  up  the  body,  but  the  hidden  sense  which  lies 
under  them,  and  is  not  seen,  that  they  think  to  be  the  soul  of  it."  And 
this  was  that  which  a  late  learned  author"  supposes  rendered  their  con- 
version to  Chrisianity  more  easy.  For,  being  wont  to  seek  out  the 
spiritual  meaning  of  the  law,  they  more  readily  embraced  the  gospel 
than  those  who  looked  no  farther  than  the  outward  letter,  and  were 
therefore  the  harder  to  be  persuaded  to  come  over  to  so  spiritual  an 
institution. 

30.  It  was  from  hence,  I  suppose,  that  the  most  early  heretics  were 
so  wedded  to  their  mystical  interpretations  of  scripture,  and  so  much 
valued  themselves  upon  the  account  of  them  :  against  whose  false  and 
impure  doctrines  our  late  great  critic,  Dr.  Hammond,1  supposes  St. 
Barnabas  to  have  principally  designed  his  epistle  ;  and  therefore,  that, 

°  Praparat.  Evang.  lib.  viii.  c.  10,  p.  376.  *Apud  Euseb.  Hist  Eccles.  lib.  ii.  c.  17. 

cDe  Vit.  Contempt,  ;>.  889.  rfScalig.  do  Emend.  Tempor.  lib.  v.  e  Vales.  Annot.  in 
Euseb.  lib.  ii.  c  17,  p.  30,  31.         /  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  ii.  c.  17,  p.  43,  A.  B.  et  p.  45,  A.  B. 

*  Bruno  de  Therapeut.  Dissert,  p.  183,  &c.  h  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  loc.  cit.  p.  44,  B. 

•  Ibid.  p.  45,  B.  C.  *  Bruno  de  Therap.  p.  193.  '  Dissert,  de  Antichristo,  c.  vii.  Et 
Dissert,  i.  contr.  Blondel.  c.  vii.  sect.  4,  5. 

0 


15S  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

being  to  deal  with  men  who  valued  nothing  hut  mcfa  hind  of  exposi- 
tions, be  was  forced  to  confute  them  In  their  own  way  ;  both  as  most 
suitable  to  their  manners,  and  mosl  proper  either  to  convince  them  of 
th.-ir  errors,  or  at  least  to  prevent  others,  especially  the  Jewish  con- 
verts, from  falling  into  them. 

31.  But  whether  this  were  so  or  not,  thus  much  is  evident  from 
what  baa  been  said:  that  the  Hellenistica!  Jews,  to  whom  it  is  most 
probable  St.  Barnabas  addressed  his  epistle,  were  altogether  used  to 
this  way  of  interpreting  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  therefore,  that  how- 
soever it  may  appear  to  us,  who  are  so  utterly  unaccustomed  to  it,  yet 
we  ought  not  to  wonder  that  St.  Barnabas,  who  was  himself  a  Jew, 
should  at  such  time,  and  upon  such  an  occasion  as  this,  make  use  of 
it,  or  suppose  it  at  all  unworthy  of  him  so  to  do. 

Nor  indeed  were  they  the  Jews  only  that  led  the  holy  men  in 
those  days  into  these  mystical  expositions  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 
Even  the  Gentile  philosophers  conduced  towards  it:  whilst  the  better 
to  cover  over  the  fabulous  stories  of  their  gods,  which  they  saw  were 
too  ridiculous  to  be  maintained,  they  explained  the  whole  system  of 
their  idolatry  by  allegorical  analogies,  and  showed  all  the  poetical  ac- 
counts of  them  to  be  only  the  outside  shadows  of  a  sort  of  natural 
theology  included  under  those  fictions.  Thus  Heraclides'  of  Pontus 
a  whole  book  of  the  allegories  of  Homer ;  and  Metrodorus"  of 
Lampsacus  is  fallen  foul  upon  by  Tatian,  b  his  Oration  against  the 
Greeks,  for  pretending  that  neither  Juno,  nor  Minerva,  nor  Jupiter, 
were  what  those  imagined  who  built  temples  and  altars  to  them, 
-  be  vttottdotii  xai  otoi%tiuv  6taxoour;tfcj.  Nay,  so  far  went  this  last 
author  in  his  allegories,  as  to  turn  all  the  Trojan  and  Grecian  heroes 
into  mere  fictions;  and  to  make  Hector,  and  Achilles,  and  Agamem- 
non, and  even  Helena  herself,  nothing  less  than  what  one  would  think 
they  were,  and  what  the  common  people  ignorantly  imagined  them 
to  be. 

33.  And  for  the  influence  which  this  had  upon  the  ancient  fat] 
who  from  philosophers  became  Christians,  the  writings  both  of  Justin 
Martyr,  and  Clemens  /Uexandrinus,  sufficiently  show.  And  if  we 
may  believe  Porphyry/  an  enemy,  in  the  case  of  Origen,  he  tells  as, 
in  the  same  place  in  which  Ik?  complains  of  him,  "for  turning  those 
things  that  were  clearly  delivered  by  Moses,  into  mystical  significa- 
tions,"- -not  only  that  h<"  did  this  in  imitation  of  the  Grecians,  but  thai 
it  was-  from  his  frequent  conversation'  with  Numenius  and  Cronius, 
Moderatus,  Nichomachus,  and  others  among  the  Pythagoreans, 
with  Chseremon  and  Cornutus  among  the  Stoics,  that  he  had  learnt  his 

•T:iti;ui.  eoatr.  Gnm.  p.  160,  B.  C.  Eft*.  Crit  da  V.  T.  h>.  Bi  •  I 

r  tpad  Bweb.  Hi*  Bocfea.  ht>.  fi  c.  19,  p.  178.        'Bid.  p.  L79,     VUl.  AmM.  Vale* 
p.  106,  109. 


OF  THE    EPISTLE    OF    ST.   BARNABAS.  159 

allegorical  way  of  expounding  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  applied  that 
to  his  religion  which  they  were  wont  to  do  to  their  superstition. 

34.  From  all  which  it  appears,  that  this  way  of  writing,  in  matters 
of  religion,  was  in  those  days  generally  used,  not  only  among  the 
Jews,  but  among  the  wiser  and  more  philosophical  of  the  Gentiles  too  ; 
and  from  both  came  to  be  almost  universally  practised  among  the 
primitive  Christians ;  which  being  so,  we  ought  to  be  far  from  cen- 
suring of  St.  Barnabas  for  his  mystical  application  of  what  God  pre- 
scribed to  the  Jews  in  the  Old  Testament,  to  the  spiritual  accomplish- 
ment of  it  in  the  New.  Much  less  should  we  ever  the  more  call  in 
question  either  the  truth  or  credit  of  his  epistle  upon  this  account. 

35.  Having  said  thus  much  either  in  vindication  of  the  allegorical 
expositions  of  this  epistle,  or  at  least  by  way  of  apology  for  them,  I 
shall  add  but  little  more  concerning  the  epistle  itself.  I  have  before 
observed,  as  to  the  time  of  its  writing,  that  it  was  somewhat  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  as  we  may  conjecture  from  the  subject 
of  it,  (for  title  at  present  it  has  none,  nor  does  it  appear  that  it  ever 
had  any,)  was  addressed  to  the  Jews,  to  draw  them  off  from  the  letter 
of  the  law,  to  a  spiritual  understanding  of  it  ;  and  by  that  means  dis- 
pose them  to  embrace  the  gospel.  "Whether  he  had,  besides  this,  a 
farther  design  in  it,  as  Dr.  Hammond0  supposes,  to  confute  the  errors 
of  the  Gnostic  heretics,  and  to  prevent  the  Jewish  converts  from  falling 
into  them,  it  is  not  certain,  but  may,  from  the  chief  points  insisted 
upon  by  him,  be  probably  enough  supposed.  If  any  one  shall  think 
it  strange  that,  disputing  against  the  Jews  for  the  truth  of  the  gospel, 
he  should  not  have  urged  any  of  those  passages  relating  to  the  Messiah, 
which  seem  to  us  the  most  apposite  to  such  a  purpose, — such  as  the 
oracle  of  Jacob  concerning  the  time  that  Shiloh  was  to  come ;  the 
seventy  weeks  of  Daniel ;  the  prophecies  of  Haggai  and  Malachi ;  of 
his  coming  while  the  second  temple  stood,  and  which  was  now  de- 
stroyed when  he  wrote  this  epistle ;  and  the  like :  *  Monsieur  Le  Moyne 
will  give  him  a  ready  answer,  viz.  that  these  passages  relate  chiefly  to 
the  time  of  Christ's  appearing,  and  that  this  was  no  controversy  in 
these  days :  the  JewTs  not  only  confessing  it,  but  being  ready  at  every 
turn,  through  this  persuasion,  to  set  up  some  one  or  other  for  their 
Messiah,  to  their  shame  and  confusion ;  it  was,  therefore,  then,  but 
little  necessary  to  use  those  arguments  against  them,  which  now  appear 
to  be  the  most  proper  and  convincing.  Since  the  state  of  the  question 
has  been  altered,  and  the  JewTs  deny  either  that  their  Messiah  is  come, 
or  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  have  come  about  the  time  that  our 
Saviour  Christ  appeared  in  the  flesh. 

36.  But  though  the  chief  design  of  this  epistle  was  to  convince  the 

a  Dissert,  de  Antichristo,  cap.  vii.  b  Prolog,  ad  Var.  Sacr, 


160        DISCOURSE    OF    THE     EPISTLE    OF    ST.    BARNABAS. 

Jews  of  the  truth  of  our  religion,  yet  are  there  not  wanting  in  the  latter 
part  of  it  many  excellent  rules,  to  render  it  still  verj  useful  to  the 

pious  reader.      Indeed  BOme  ■  h.ivc  doubted  whether  this  did  originally 

belong  to  this  epistle,  or  whether  it  bas  not  since  been  added  to  it. 
But  seeing  we  find  tins  pari  quoted  by  the  fathers  as  belonging  to  St 
Barnabas,  no  leas  than  the  other, — and  that  the  measure  assigned  to 
it,  in  the  ancient  Stichometries,  <  an  bardlj  be  well  accounted  for  without 
it, — I  do  not  Bee  but  that  we  ought  to  conclude,  that  our  author  did 

divide  his  <  pistle  into  the  two  parts  in  which  we  HOW  ha\r  it  ;  and  that 

this  latter,  as  well  as  the  former,  was  written  by  bim. 

37.  As  for  the  translation  which  I  have  here  given  of  it,  I  have  n 

it  up  out  of  what  remains  of  the  original  Greek,  and  of  the  old   I 
Version  ;   and  of  each   of  which,  though  a  part   be   lost,  yet   it   hi 
fallen  out,  that  between  them  we  not  only  have  the  whole   epistle,  but 
that  too,  free  of  those  interpolations  which  Yossius*  tells  us  some  bad 
endeavoured  to  make  in   this,  as  well  as  in  Ignatius's  epistles.      The 
passages  of  Holy  Scripture  which  are  here  quoted  according  to  the 
Septuagint,  I  have  chose  rather  to  set  down  as  the)  arc  in  our  El 
Bible,  than  to  amuse  the  common  reader  witli  a  new  translation  of 
them.     Upon  the  whole,  I  have  endeavoured  to  attain  to  the  sen 
my  author,  and  to  make  him  as  plain  and  easy  as  I  v,,h  able.      It   in 
any  thing  I  shall  have  chanced  to  mistake  him,  I  have  only  this  to  Bay 
for  myself,  that  he  must  be  better  acquainted  with  the  ro.nl  than  I  pre- 
tend to  be,  who  will  undertake  to  travel  so  long  a  journey  in  the  dark, 
and  never  to  miss  his  way. 

rr.if.it.  I '. -.  r.  id  edit.  Oxon.  p.  11,  &c.  Ms.  Yosmus,  Annot  in  Bunab.  i 


THE 

CATHOLIC  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  BARNABAS. 


Ml  happiness  to  you,  jny  sons  and  daughters,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christy  who  loved  us,  in  peace. 

I.  Having  perceived  abundance  of  knowledge  of  the  great  and  ex- 
cellent a  laws b  of  God  to  be  in  you,  I  exceedingly  rejoice  in  your  blessed 
and  admirable  souls/  because  ye  have  so  worthily  received  the  grace 
which  was  grafted"  in  you.  For  which  cause,  I  am  full  of  joy,  hoping 
the  rather  to  be  saved  ;e  inasmuch  as  I  truly  see  a  spirit  infused  into 
you,  from  the  pure^^  fountain  of  God.  Having  this  persuasion,  and 
being  fully  convinced  thereof,  because  that  since  I  have  begun  to  speak 
unto  you,  I  have  had  a  more  than  ordinary  good  success  in  the  way 
of  the  law-  of  the  Lord,  which  is  in  Christ.  For  which  cause,"  bre- 
thren, I  also  think,  verily,  that  I  love  you  above  my  own  soul ;  because 
that  therein  dwelleth  the  greatness  of  faith  and  charity,  as  also  the  hope 
of  that  life  which  is  to  come.  Wherefore  considering  this,  that  if  I 
shall  take  care  to  communicate  to  you  a  part  of  what  I  have  received, 
it  shall  turn  to  my  reward  that  I  have  served  such  good  souls,*  I  gave 
diligence  to  write  in  a  few  words  unto  you,  that  together  with  your 
faith,  your  knowledge"  also  may  be  perfect.  There  are,  therefore,  three 
things  ordained  by  the  Lord' — the  hope  of  life,  the  beginning,"1  and 
the  completion  of  it.  For  the  Lord  hath  both  declared  unto  us,  by  the 
prophets,  those  things  that  are  past,"  and  opened  to  us0  the  beginnings 
of  those  that  are  to  come.  Wherefore,  it  will  behove  us,  as  he  has 
spoken/  to  come  more  holily ?  and  nearer  to  his  altar.  I  therefore,  not 
as  a  teacher,  but  as  one  of  you,r  will  endeavour  to  lay  before  you  a 
few  things  by  which  you  may,  on  many  accounts/  become  the  more 
joyful. 

0  Honestarum.  *  JEquitatvm  ;  A««raiw/iara)i/ ;  righteous  judgments.  c  Spiritihus, 

disposition.  d  Natural:  Gr.  c^vtov.     See  chap.  xix.  tufvrov  iopeav  dtta\rjs  ;  which  the 

Lat.  Int.  renders  Naturale  donum  doctrincr.     Comp.  Jam.  i.  21.  e  Liberari .   (Jr.  ut 

videtur  ;  ou)9ovai.         f  Honesto,  from  the  Gr.  xaM;.  s  Comp.  Psal.  cix.  33,  viz.  cither 

by  preaching,  or  fulfilling  the  same.  A  Vid.  Annot.  Voss.  in  loc..        *  Talibus  spirit i- 

bus  sctvienti.  Usser.  *  IVuwj.  i  &6y par a  Kvpbv,  Constitutions  of  the  Ij>t<1. 

m  Viz.  Faith  and  Charity. — See  before.         n  Namely,  which  we  are  to  believe.        °  That 
is,  which  are  to  be  hoped  for,  and  end  in  love.         p  Given  us  to  hunt:  i  Honesiws  et 

altius,  the  more  honestly  and  highly.         r  Like  yourselves.         'In  many  thing*, 

21  o2  161 


162  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

II.  Seeing,  then,  the  days  art-  exceeding  evil,  and  the  adversary  has 
got  the  power  of  this  present  world,'1  we  ought  to   give  the  more  dili- 
gence to  inquire  into  the  righteous  jud  '      Lord,     Now  the 
assistants  of  our  faith  are,  fear  and  patience;  our  fellow-c< 
long-suffering  and   continence.      Whilst  these    remain    pure   in  what 

-  unto  the  Lord,  wisdom,  and   understanding,  and  science,  and 
knowledge,  rejoiced  together  with  them,     I '  :  (<    11  led  to 

us,  by  all  the  prophets,  that  lie  has  no  occasion  for  our  sacrifices,  or 
burnt-offerings,  or  oblations;  saying  thus:  "To  what  purpose  is  the 
multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me?  saith  the  Lord:  I  am  full  of  the 
burnt-offerings  of  rains,  and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts;'  and  I  delight  not  in 
the  blood  of  bullocks,  or  of  he-goats.  When  you  come  to  appear 
before  me,  who  hath  required  this  at  your  hands?  Ye  shall  no  more 
tread  my  courts.  Bring  no  more  vain  oblations  ;  incense  is  an  abomi- 
nation unto  me  :  your  new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling  of  assem- 
blies, I  cannot  away  with  ;  it  is  iniquity,  even  the  solemn  meeting. 
Your  new  moons  and  your  appointed  feasts,  my  soul  hateth."J  These 
things,  therefore,  hath  God  abolished,  that  the  new  law  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  which  is  without  the  yoke  of  any  such  necessity,  might 
have  the  spiritual  offering  of  men  themselves.  For  so  the  Lord  saith 
i  to  those  heretofore,'  "Did  I  at  all  command  your  fathers,  when 
lie  \  came  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  concerning  burnt-offerings  or  sacri- 
but  this  I  commanded  them,  saying,  Let' none  of  you  imagine 
evil  in  your  hearts  against  his  neighbour,  and  love  no  false  oath."  For- 
asmuch then  as  we  are  not  without  understanding,  we  ought  to  appre- 
hend the  design  of  our  merciful  Father.5  For  he  speaks  to  us,  being 
willing  that  we,  who  have  been  in  the  same  error  about  the  sacrifices, 
should  seek  and  find  how  to  approach  unto  him.  And  therefore  he 
thus  I  ws — «  The  sacrifice  of  God  [is  a  broken  spirit,]  a  broken 

and  contrite  heart  God  will  not  despise."*  Wherefore,  brethren,  we 
ought  the  more  diligently  to  inquire  after  those  things  that  belong  to 
our  salvation,  that  the  adversary  may  not  have  any  entrance  into  us, 
and  deprive  US  of. mm-  spiritual  life. 

III.  Wherefore  he  again  speaketh  to  them  concerning  these  thu 

•<  Ye  shall  no'  i  this  day,  to  make  your  voice  to  be  heard 

on  high.      Is   it    such    a  fa^t   that    I    I  n  :   a  day  for  a  man  to 

afflict  his  SOul  ?  18  it  to  bow  down  his  head  like  a  bulrush,  and 

sackcloth  and  ashes  under  him  ?  wilt  thou  call  .    ml  an  ac- 

ceptable  day  t.>  the  Lord  ?M    Bu1  to  us  I:'  this  wise  :  >•  ' 

this  the  (as!  that  I  I  en  :  to  l  ■  >se  the  bands  of  wick    ln<  bs,  to 

undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  opptes  e  :  and  that  ye 

break  I   to  deal   thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that 

«.;  .(..<,  \Ux.  •Lamb*.         *Jmuh  L 11— 14. 

« Jcr.  mi.  gft,  ■:■■.'        I  Zech.  mil  17.  *  Of  tfit  mercy  of  our  Father.         *  PtoL  L  19. 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  163 

thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house  ?  when  thou  seest  the 
naked,  that  thou  cover  him,  and  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine 
own  flesh  ?  Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  thy 
health  shall  spring  forth  speedily  ;  and  thy  righteousness  shall  go  before 
thee,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  thy  rereward.  Then  shalt  thou 
call,  and  the  Lord  shall  answer ;  thou  shalt  cry,  and  he  shall  say,  Here 
I  am ;  if  thou  put  away  from  the  midst  of  thee  the  yoke,  the  putting 
forth  of  the  finger,  and  speaking  vanity:  and  if  thou  draw  out  thy  soul 
to  the  hungry,  and  satisfy  the  afflicted  soul."tt  In  this,  therefore,  bre- 
thren, God  has  manifested  his  foreknowledge b  and  mercy  to  us ;  be- 
cause the  people  which  he  has  purchased  to  his  beloved  Son  were  to 
believe  in  sincerity  ;c  and  therefore  he  has  shown  these  things  to  all  of 
us,  that  we  shall  not  run  as  proselytes  to  the  Jewish"  law. 

IV.  Wherefore  is  it  necessary  that,  searching  diligently6  into  those 
things  which  are  near  to  come  to  pass,  we  should  write  to  you  what  may 
serve  to  keep  you  whole.  To  which  end,  let  us  flee  from  every  evil 
work,  and  hate  the  errors  of  the  present  time,  that  we  may  be  happy' 
in  that  which  is  to  come.  Let  us  not  give  ourselves  the  liberty  of  dis- 
puting with  the  wicked  and  sinners,  lest  we  should  chance  in  time  to 
become  like  unto  them.  "  For  the  consummation  of  sins  is  come,"  as 
it  is  written,  as  the  prophet  Daniel  says.'1  And  for  this  end  the  Lord 
hath  shortened  the  times  and  the  days,  that  his  beloved  might  hasten 
his  coming  to  his  inheritance.  For  so  the  prophet  speaks, — «  There 
shall  ten  kings  reign  in  the  earth ;  and  there  shall  rise,  last  of  all,  an- 
other little  one,  and  he  shall  humble  three  kings."1  And  again,  Daniel 
speaks  in  like  manner  concerning  the  kingdoms, — "  And  I  saw  the 
fourth  beast  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly ;  and  it  had 
ten  horns.  I  considered  the  horns  ;  and  behold  there  came  up  among 
them  another  little  horn,  before  which  were  three  of  the  first  horns 
plucked  up  by  the  roots.""  We  ought,  therefore,  to  understand  this 
also :  and  I  beseech  you,  as  one  of  your  own  brethren,  loving  you  all 
beyond  my  own  life,  that  you  look  well  to  yourselves,  and  be  not  like 
those  who  add  sin  to  sin,1  and  say,  "  that  their  covenant  is  ours  also." 
Nay,  but  it  is  ours  only  ;  for  they  have  for  ever  lost  that  which  Moses 
received.  For  thus  saith  the  Scripture  :  "  And  Moses  continued  fast- 
ing forty  days  and  forty  nights  in  the  mount ;  and  he  received  the 
covenant  from  the  Lord,  even  two  tables  of  stone  written  by  the  hand 
of  God."m  But  having  turned  themselves  to  idols,  they  lost  it ;  as  the 
Lord  also  said  unto  Moses,  "  Moses,  go  down  quickly,  for  thy  people 
which  thou  hast  brought  forth  out  of  Egypt,  have  corrupted  themselves, 
and  turned  aside  from  the  way  which  I  commanded  them.  And  Moses 

a  Isaiah  lviii.  4-]  0.  b  Providence.         e  Simplicity.  d  Their.  '  His  tantibus: 

readinstantibits.         I  Beloved.         e  Temptation.  h  Dan.  ix.  'Dan.  vii.  K  Dan. 

vii.  7,  8.         •'  Heap  up  sins.         *  Exod.  xxxi.  xxxiv. 


164  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

cast  the  two  tables  out  of  his  bands,'* — and  their  covenant  was  bro- 
ken, that  the  love  of  Jesus  might  be  lealed  in  your  hearts,  unto  the 
hope  of  his  faith.  Wherefore  let  us  give  heed  unto  the  last  timet. 
For  all  the  time'  past  of  our  life  and  our  faith  will  profit  us  nothing, 
unless  we  continue  to  hate  what  Ifl  evil,  and  to  withstand  the  future 
temptations.  So  the  Son  of  God  tells  us,  "Let  iu  resist  all  iniquity 
and  hate  it."     Wherefore  consider  the  works  of  the  evil  way.       D  i 

not  withdraw  yourselves  from  others,  as  if  you  were   already  justified; 

but  coming  altogether  into  one  place,  inquire  what  is  agreeable  to,  and 
profitable  for  the  beloved  of  God.  For  the  Scripture  saith,  »  Woe 
unto  them  that  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own 
sight. "a  Let  us  become  spiritual,  a  perfect  temple  to  God.  As  much 
as  in  us  lies,  let  us  meditate  upon  the  fear  of  God  ;  and  strive,  to  the 
utmost  of  our  power,  to  keep  his  commandments,  that  we  may  rejoice 
in  his  righteous  judgments.  For  God  will  judge  the  world  without 
respect  of  persons;  and  every  one  shall  receive  according  to  his  works. 
If  a  man  shall  be  good,  his  righteousness  shall  go  before  him  ;  if  wicked, 
the  reward  of  his  wickedness  shall  follow  him.  Take  heed,  therefore, 
lest  sitting  still,  now  that  we  are  called,  we  tail  asleep  in  our  sins 
the  wicked  one,  getting  the  dominion  over  us,  stir  us  up,  and  shut  us 
out  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord/  Consider  this  also:  although  you 
have  seen  so  great  signs  ami  wonders  done  among  the  people  of  the 
,  yet  (this  notwithstanding)  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  them.  Beware 
therefore,  lest  it  happen  to  us  as  it  is  written,  "There  be  man)  called, 
but  few  chosen."' 

V.  For  this  cause  did  our  Lord  vouchsafe  to  give  up  his  body  to 
destruction,  that  through  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  we  might  he  .sanc- 
tified ;  that  is,  by  the  sprinkling  of  his  blood.  Now  for  what  concerns 
the  things  that  are-  written  about  him — some  belong  to  the  people  of 
llie  Jews,  and  Some  to  us.  For  thus  saith  the  Scripture,  "He  was 
wounded  f>r  our  transgressions  ;  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ;  and 
by  his  blood  we  are  healed.  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter; 
and    as   a  Bheep    before    his   shearers    is   dumb,  BO   he    Opened    not   his 

mouth."*     Wherefore  we  ought  the  more  to  give  thanks  unto  God, 

forth.it  he  hath  both  declared  unto  us  what  ■  passed,  and  not'  suf- 
I  us  to  he  without  understanding  of  those  things  that  arc  to  come. 

But  to  them  he  saith,  "  The  nets  are  not  unjustly  spread  for  the  hi 

This  he  spake,  because  a  man  will  justly  perish,  if  having  the  know- 
ledge  of  the  W8)  ^i'  truth,    he    shall    nevertheless    not    retrain   himself 

i'n>m  the  w.i\  ol  darkness.     Am!  (bi  this  cause  the  Lord  was  content 

to  suffer  for  our  souls,  although  he  he  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth  j  to 


•Erod.  xxxii.  7,  19.     I)mt.  .v.  12.  17.  II  'ViiGr. 

OfeuuAlBi.    In.  r. SI.         'Matt.nv.fi  LO         '  M lit  uft  I  L         ''-•  liiLft,7. 
»Vld,  Bdh.  Oxoo.  i-  *!.       iProv.L  17. 


OF  ST.    BARNABAS.  165 

whom  God  said  before  the  beginning  of  the  world,  "  Let  us  make  man 
after  our  own  image  and  likeness." n  Now,  how  he  suffered  for  us, 
seeing  it  was  by  men  that  he  underwent  it,  I  will  show"  you.  The 
prophets,  having  received  from  him  the  gift  of  prophecy,  spake  before 
concerning  him  ;  but  he,  that  he  might  abolish  death,  and  make  known 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  was  content,  as  it  was*  necessary  to 
appear  in  the  flesh,  that  he  might  make  good  the  promise  before  given 
to  our  fathers;  and  preparing  himself  a  new  people,  might  demonstrate 
to  them,  whilst  he  was  upon  earth,  that  after  the  resurrection  he  would 
judge  the  world.  And  finally,  teaching  the  people  of  Israel,  and 
doing  many  wonders  and  signs  among  them,  he  preached  to  them,  and 
showed  the  exceeding  great  love  which  he  bare  towards  them.  And 
when  he  chose  his  apostles,  which  were  afterwards  to  publish  his  gos- 
pel, he  took  men  who  had  been  very  great  sinners  ;  that  thereby  he 
might  plainly  show,  "  That  he  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners to  repentance."0  Then  he  clearly  manifested  himself  to  be  the 
Son  of  God.  For  had  he  not  come  in  the  flesh,  how  could  men  have 
been  able  to  look  upon  him  that  they  might  be  saved  ?  seeing  if  they 
behold  only  the  sun,  which  was  the  work  of  his  hands,  and  shall  here- 
after cease  to  be,  they  are  not  able  to  endure  steadfastly  to  look  against 
the  rays  of  it.  Wherefore  the  Son  of  God  came  in  the  flesh  from  this 
cause,  that  he  might  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity  who  have  per- 
secuted his  prophets  unto  death.  And  for  the  same  reason  also  he 
suffered ;  for  God  hath  said,  "  of  the  stripes  of  his  flesh,  that  they 
were  from  them."d  And,  <<I  will  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep 
of  the  flock  shall  be  scattered."6  Thus  he  would  suffer,  because  it 
behoved  him  to  suffer  upon  the  cross.  For  thus  one  saith,  prophesying 
concerning  him,  " Spare  my  soul  from  the  sword."*  And  again, 
«  Pierce  my  flesh  from  thy  fear." s  And  again,  "The  congregation 
of  wicked  doers  rose  up  against  me  [they  have  pierced  my  hands  and 
my  feet]."*  And  again,  he  saiih,  "  I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters, 
and  my  cheeks  to  be  buffeted,  and  my  face  I  set  as  an  hard  rock."4 

VI.  And  when  he  had  fulfilled  the  commandment  of  God,  what  says 
he?  "Who  will  contend  with  me  ?  Let  him  stand  against  me:  or 
who  is  he  that  will  implead  me  ?  Let  him  draw  near  to  the  servant 
of  the  Lord.  Wo  be  to  you  !  Because  ye  shall  all  wax  old  as  a  gar- 
ment, the  moth  shall  eat  you  up."k  And  again  the  prophet  adds, 
"He  is  put  for  a  stone  of  stumbling.  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a 
foundation,  a  precious  stone,  a  choice  corner-stone,  an  honourable 

aGcn.  i.  26.         b Learn.  eMatt.  ix.  14.  ' Namely,  from  the  Jews.        '  Zech. 

xiii.  6,7.  /Recording  to  the  LXX.  Psalm  xxii.  20;  ex'viii.  [cxix.  Hcb.}  120;  xxii. 
16.  s  These  words  were  doubtless  cited  thus;  by  Barnabas,  because  that  without  them, 
those  foregoing  do  not  prove  the  crucifixion  of  Christ.  But  through  the  repetition  of  the 
same  preposition,  this  latter  part  was  so  early  omitted,  that  it  was  not  in  the  Latin  in- 
terpreter's copy.         *  Tsui,  xxii  1 6.         'Isa.1.  6.         *  ha  1.8,  9.     Septuag.  Inter. 


166  THE  CATHOLIC    KPISTLE 

-stone. m    And  what  follows-     «  And  be  that  bopeth  in  him  shall  live 
for  ever."    What  men?    Is  our  hope  built  upon  ,.  1 1 

But  because  the  Lord  bath  hardened1  bis  flesh  against  suffei 
uth,  "  I  have  put  me  as  a  firm  rock."-     And  again  the  pi 
adds,  (<  The  atone  which  the  builders  refused  i  head  of 

>mer."'    And  again  be  saith,  "This  is  the  great  and  wond 
day  which  the  L        I  ath  made."'     [I  write  thea 
plainly  to  you  that  ye  maj  understand.']     For,  ind      .  I       ild  be 

;it  eveu  to  die  for  your  sakes.'    out  what  saith 
"The  counsel  of  the  wicked  encompassed  me  about.    They  i 
about  me,  about  the  honeycomb;"  and,  "upon  myi 

the)  cast  lots."*     Forasmuch  then  as  our  Saviour  was  to  appear  in 
the  flesh,  and  suffer,  his  passion  was  herel  Id.     For  thus  saith 

the  prophet  against  Israel,  "Wo  be  to  their  soul.  they  have 

taken  wicked  counsel  against  themselves,  saying,  "  Let  us  lay'  BE 
for  the  righteous,  because  he  is  unprofitable  to  us."k    Moses  also  in 
like   d  speaketh  to  them;  "  Behold,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 

enter  ye  into  the  good  land  of  which  the  Lord  hath  sworn  to  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  that  he  would  give  it  you,  and  possess  it:  a 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey."  '     Now  what  the  spiritual  mi 
of  this  i-.  learn.     It  m  is  as  if  it  had  been  said,  put  your  trust  in  J 
who  shall  be  manifested  to  you  in  the  flesh.     F      man  is  the 
whicl  forasmuch  as  out  of  the  substance*  of  the  earth 

d.     What,  therefore,  d  leanwhen  he  says,  "1 

I  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  ?"    Blessed  be  our  Lord,  who 
us  wisdom,  and  a  heart  to  understand  his 

bet,   "  Who  shall  understand  the  hard  sayings  of  the 
Lord  but  he  thai  i^  wise,  and   intelligent,  and  that  loves  his  Loi 

Se<  in':,  therefore,  he  has  renewed  us  by  the  remission  i  I 

it  us  into  another  frame/   that  we  should   have   souls  li] 

of  children,  forming  us  again  himself  by  the  Spirit*    For  thus  the 

scripture  saith  concerning  us,  where  it  introduceth  the  Fa'h-  : 

to  tin-  Son  ;"   Li  Let  us  make  man  after  our  likeness  and  similitude;  and 

let  them  have  dominion  over  the  beasts  o(  the  earth,  and  over  the 

fowls  of  the  air,  and  over  the  fish  of  the   B  \nd  when  the   ; 

saw  the  man  which  he  bad  formed,  thai  behold  he  !,  he 

said,  " Increase,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  ei  Am!  this 


i.  Mii.   1  I  ;    xwiii.   H'..  ■'  f  I- 

p  ,i.  crrii  -I.         fCUm.  M  c.  fi        ,  \.     Thii  n  not  in  I 
I.  it  \  .r-ion.        I  Via.  Edit  <  tarn,  \>-  89, 
cxtil  IS  j  \\i.  19.  '  /  ind.  k  I-...  '  Bi  1,3.  m) 

C.trl.r.  I  II 

(;r._.l/„,/,   , 
V.  t.  Lit.  Int.ii>.  saith  to  tk  '»»•   10. 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  167 

he  spake  to  his  Son.  I  will  now  show  you  how  he  made  us  a  new 
creature"  in  the  latter  days.  The  Lord  saith,  "Behold,  I  will  make 
the  last  as  the  first.""  Wherefore  the  prophet  thus  spake, — "  Enter 
into  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  and  have  dominion  over 
it."c  Wherefore  ye  see  how  we  are  again  formed  anew;  as  also  he 
speaks  by  another  prophet, — "  Behold,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  take  from 
them  (that  is,  from  those  whom  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  foresaw)  their 
hearts  of  stone,  and  I  will  put  into  them  hearts  of  flesh;""  because 
he  was  about  to  be  made  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  to  dwell  in  us. 
For,  my  brethren,  the  habitation  of  our  heart  is  a  holy  temple a  unto 
the  Lord.  For  the  Lord  saith  again,  "  In  what  place  shall  I  appear 
before  the  Lord  my  God,  and  be  glorified?"  He  answers,  "I  will 
confess  unto  thee  in  the  congregation  in  the  midst  of  my  brethren  ;  and 
will  sing  unto  thee  in  the  church  of  the  saints.  "f  Wherefore  we  are 
they  whom  he  has  brought  into  that  good  land.  But5  what  signifies 
the  milk  and  honey  ?  Because  as  the  child  is  nourished  first  with 
milk,  and  then  with  honey,  so  we,  being  kept  alive  by  the  belief  of 
his  promises  and  his  word,  shall  live  and  have  dominion  over  the 
land.  For  he  foretold  above,  saying,  "  Increase,  and  multiply,  and 
have  dominion  over  the  fishes,"  &c.  But  who  is  there  that  is  now 
able  to  have  this  dominion  over  the  wild  beasts,  or  fishes,  or  fowls  of 
the  air  ?  For  you  know  that  to  rule  is  to  have  power — that  a  man 
should  be  set  over  what  he  rules.  But  forasmuch  as  this  we  have  not 
now,  he  tells  us  when  we  shall  have  it ;  namely,  when  we  shall  be- 
come perfect,  that  we  may  be  made  inheritors  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord. 

VII.  Understand  then,  my  beloved  children,  that  the  good  God 
hath  before  manifested  all  things  unto  us,  that  we  might  know  to 
whom  we  ought  always  to  give  thanks  and  praise.  If,  therefore,  the 
Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Lord  of  all,  and  shall  come  to  judge  both  the 
quick  and  the  dead,  hath  suffered,  that  by  his  stripes  we  might  live, 
let  us  believe  that  the  Son  of  God  could  not  have  suffered  but  for  us. 
But,  being  crucified,  they  gave  him  vinegar  and  gall  to  drink.  Hear, 
therefore,  how  the  priests  of  the  temple  did  foreshow  this  also  :  h  The 
Lord,  by  his  command  which  was  written,  declared,  that  whosoever 
did  not  fast  the  appointed  fast  he  should  die  the  death : '  because  he 
also  was  himself  one  day  to  offer  up  his  body"  for  our  sins;  that  so  the 
type  of  what  was  done  in  Isaac1  might  be  fulfilled,  who  was  offered 
upon  the  altar.  What,  therefore,  is  it  that  he  says  by  the  prophet  ? 
"  And  let  them  eat  of  the  goat  which  is  offered  in  the  day  of  the  fast 

aGr. — A  scrawl  formation,  Usa.  xliii.  18,  19.  .Matt.  x\\  1G.  "Coinp.  Heb.  iii. 
dEzek.  xi.  1!);  xxxvi.  26.  «So  St.  Paul,  1  Cor.  iii.  16,  17;  \i.  19.  /PsaL  xli.  :? ; 
rri.  23.  t  Coinj).  Hier.  in  Jer.  xxxii.  22 ;  et in  Jer. ai.  5.  Add.  1  Pet.  ii.  2.  *See 
this  applied  after  the  same  manner,  Heb.  ix.  'Lent  xxiii.  29.  *  The  vessel  of  his 

spirit.         i  Gen.  xxii. 


168  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

for  ill  their  sins.""    Hearken  diligently,  [my  brethren.]     "And  all 
the  priests,  and  they  only,  shall  eat  the  inwards,  uot  washed  with 
j.ir.11     Why  so?     Because'  I  know  that  when  I  shall  hereafter 
offer  my  flesh  for  the  sins  of  a  new  people,  ye  will  give  me  v\ 
to  drink,  mixed  with  gall;  there!  pie  fasting 

the  while,  and  lamenting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  And  that  he  might 
foreshow  thai  he  was  to  suffer  f<  r  them,  hear  then  how  be  appointed 
it: — "Take,"  says  he,  "two  goats,  fair  and  alike,  and  offer  them; 
and  let  the  high-pri  one  of  them  for  a  burnt- 

what  most  be  done  with  the  other3     "  Let  it,"  says  be,  "be 
curved. "     Consider  how  exactly  this  appears  to  have  ben  a  type  of 
"And  let  all  the  congregation  spit  upon  It,  and  prick  it:   and 
put  the  scarlet  wool  about   its  head  :    and   thus   let  it  be   carried  forth 
into  the  wilderness."4     And  this  being  done,  he  that  was  appointed 
to  convey  the  goat,  led  it  into   the  wilderness,  and'  took   away  the 
scarlet  wool,  and   put   it  upon  a  thorn  bush,  whose  young/  sprouts, 
when  we  find  them  in  the  field,  we  are  are  wont  to  eat :  so  the  fruit 
of  that  thorn  only  is   sweet.      And   to  what   end  was  this  ceremony? 
Consider — one  was  offered  upon  the  altar,  the   other  was  accursed. 
And   why  was   that  which    was   accursed,   crowned?       B 
shall  see  Christ  in  that  day,  having  a  scarlet   garment  about  his  ' 
aid  shall  say,  Is  not  this  he  whom  we  crucified,  having  despised  him, 
pierced  him,  mocked  him?      Certainly  this  is  he  who  then  said  that  he 
the  Son  of  God.      c.\<,  therefore,  he  shall  be  then  like  to  what  he 
on   earth,  so  were    the  Jews  heretofore   commanded  to  toh 
i fair  and  equal.      Thai  when   they  shall  see    [our  Saviour]  here- 
after coming  [in  the  clouds  of  heaven,]  they  may  be  amazed  at  the 
likeness  of  the  goats.      Wherefore  ye"  here  again   see  a  type  o{  Jesus 

who  was  to  Buffer  for  us.     But  what  then  signifies  this,  That  the  wool 

'  •  be  put    into   the   midst  of  the   thorns?      'This   also  Ifl  a  figure  of 

1  '    out  to  the  church.      For  BS  he  who  would   take   away  the 

el  Wool   must   undergo   many  difficulties,  because  that   thorn  was 

sharp,  and  with  difficulty  gel  it:  so  they,  says  Christ,  that  will 

see  me,  ami  come  t"  my  kingdom,  must  through  many  afflictions  and 

troubles  attain  unto  me.' 

\  III.  Butwhai  type  *  do  ye  suppose  i:  to  |  it  is 

commanded1  to  the  people  i  f  Israel,  that  grown  persons,  in  whom 

sins  are   come  to    perfection,  should    offer  a    heifer,  and    after  they  had 

killed  it,  should  bum  the  same:  but  then  young  men  should  take  up 

•  Numb.  \\i\.  dec      \  i.l.  Cotrlrr.  in    M  IDOt  in    IOC.      Comp.    ObWTT. 

<>\,in.        '  \  i.l.  \:,!,,.r.  <  \.t,  I.  in  i.  M  LdeDieExp. 

Edit  ,in  Vtl|.  p,  860.      \.M.  Ann.-t.  (',.(. !.  .t  Ed  Oxoo.  in  kw.  <Vid 

!••  10,  .i.  n. !-.        ■  Vld. Mum. ibid. p. 841.  Comp.  Anno!  \ 

An!.'  r  The  Greek  is  imperfect         *  Vi.l.  I..it.  \  •   . 

1  Numb. six.        'That  this  waseJeoatj] 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  169 

the  ashes  and  put  them  in  vessels,  and  tie  a  piece  of  scarlet  wool  and 
hyssop  upon  a  stick,  and  so  the  young  men  should  sprinkle  every  one 
of  the  people,  and  they  should  be  clear  from  their  sins  ?  Consider 
how  all  these  are  delivered  in  a  figure"  to  us.  This  heifer  is  Jesus 
Christ ;  the  wicked  men  that  were  to  offer  it,  are  those  sinners  who 
brought  him  to  death ;  who  afterwards  have  no  more  to  do  with  it : 
the  sinners  have  no  more  the  honour  of  handling  of  it ;  but  the  young 
men  who  performed  the  sprinkling,  signified  those  who  preach  to  us 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  the  purification  ot  the  heart ;  to  whom  the 
Lord  gave  authority  to  preach  his  gospel :  being  at  the  beginning 
twelve,  to  signify"  the  tribes,  because  there  were  twelve  tribes  of  Is- 
rael. But  why  were  there  three  young  men  appointed  to  sprinkle  ? 
To  denote  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  because  they  were  great 
before  God.  And  why  was  the  wool  put  upon  a  stick?  Because 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus  was  founded  upon  the  cross;0  and  therefore 
they  that  put  their  trust  in  him  shall  live  for  ever.  But  why  was  the 
wool  and  hyssop  put  together?  To  signify  that  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  there  shall  be  evil  and  filthy  days,  in  which,  however,  we  shall 
be  saved;  and  because d  he  that  has  any  disease  in  the  flesh  by  some 
filthy  humours,  is  cured  by  hyssop.  Wherefore  these  things  being 
thus  done,  are  to  us  indeed  evident;  but  to  the  Jews'  they  are  ob- 
scure, because  they  hearkened  not  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord. 

IX.  And  therefore  the  Scripture  again  speaks  concerning  our  ears, 
that  God  has  circumcised  them,  together  with  our  hearts.  For  thus 
saith  the  Lord  by  the  holy  prophet :  "  By  the  hearing  of  the  ear  they 
obeyed  me."/  And  again,  "They  who  are  afar  off,  shall  hear  and 
understand  what  things  I  have  done."*  And  again,  "Circumcise 
your  hearts,  saith  the  Lord.'"1  And  again  he  saith,  "  Hear,  0  Israel! 
For  thus  saith  the  Lord  thy  God."1  And  again  the  Spirit  of  God 
prophesieth,  saying,"  "  Who  is  there  that  would  live  for  ever,  let  him 
hear  the  voice  of  my  song."1  And  again,  "Hear,  0  heaven,  and 
give  ear,  0  earth !  Because  the  Lord  has  spoken  m  these  things  for  a 
witness."  And  again  he  saith,  "Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye 
princes  of  the  people.""  And  again,  "Hear,  0  children!  the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness." '  Wherefore  he  has  circumcised  our 
ears,  that  we  should  hear  his  word,  and  believe.  But  as  for  that  cir- 
cumcision in  which  the  Jews  trust,  it  is  abolished.  For  the  circum- 
cision of  which  God  spake  was  not  of  the  flesh :  but  they  have  trans- 
gressed his  commands,  because  the  evil  onep  hath  deceived  them. 
For  thus  God  bespeaks  them:    "Thus    saith  the  Lord   your  God, 


<*  Vid.  Vet.  Lat.  Interpr.     Simplicity.— Gr.         b  Gr.— To  testify.         'Wood.  dVid. 

Coteler.  in  Ioc.         e  Them.         /Septuag.     Psal.  xvii.  45.         flsa.  xxxiii.  13.  h  Jer. 

iv.  4.         'Jcr.  vii.  2.         *PsaI.  xxxiii.  xxxiv.         'Isa.  I.  10.         '"Isa.i.  2.  "  lb.  10. 
"Isa.  xl.  3.         p  Angel. 

22  P 


170  THE  CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

[Here  I  find  the  new  law,]  So*  >ng  thorns;  but  circumcise 

yourselves  to  the  Lord  your  God."-    And  what  doth  be  mean  by  this 
ten  unto  j    i    L  rd.    And  .  saith,  «  Circumcise 

the  hardness  of  yom  nnotyou  Lnd  again, 

« Behold,  saith  the  Lord,  all  the  nati  d,  [the) 

not  lost  their  foreskin ;]  but  this  people  is  uncircumcised  in  la-art. "c 
But  you  will  say  thi  circumcis  And  t 

all  the  Syrians,  and  Arabians,  and  all  the  idolatrous 
they,  therefore,  of  the  covenantof  Esrael?     And  even  the  Bgyptians 
themselves  cumcised.     Understand,  therefore,  children,  • 

things  lly,  that  Abraham,  who  was  the  first  that  brought  in 

circumcision,  looking  forward   in  the  Spirit   to  Jesus,  circumcised, 
having  I  the  myster)  of  three  letters.      For  the   Scripture  B 

that  Abraham  circumcised  three  hundred  and  eighteen  men  of  bis 
b  .-''  But  what,  therefore,  was  the  mystery  that  was  made  k: 
unto  him?  Mark,  first,  the  eighteen,  and  next  the  three  hundred. 
For  the  numeral  letters  of  ten  and  eight  are  III.  And  these  denote 
Jesus.  And  because  the  cross  was  that  by  which  we  were  to  find 
,  therefore  he  adds  three  hundred,  the  note  of  which  is  T  [the 
figure  of  his  cross.]  Wherefore,  by  two  letters,  he  signified  J< 
and  by  the  third,  his  cross,  lie  who  has  put  the  engrafted  gin  of  his 
doctrine  within  us,  knows  that  I  never  taught  to  any  one  a  more  cer- 
tain '  truth:    but  I  trust  thai  ye  are  worthy  of  it. 

X.   But  why  did  M  ,  -  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  the  swine  ;  neither 

the  eagle,  nor  the  hawk,  nor  the  crow  ;  nor  any  fish  that  has  not  a  5 
upon  him  ?"  ''  1  answer,  that  in  the  spiritual  sense,  he  comprehended 
three  doctrines  that  were  to  be  gathered'  from  hence.  Besid<  -  which 
he  says. to  them  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  u  And  I  will  give  my 
statutes  unto  this  people. m  Wherefore  it  is  not  the  command  o;  I 
that  they  should  not  eat  these  things;  but  Moses  in  the  Spirit  spake  to 
thrm.  Now  the  sow  he  forbad  them  to  eat,  meaning  thus  much: 
Thou   shalt  QOt  join   thyself  to  such    persons   as  are   like  unto   swine; 

who  whilst  they  live  in  pleasure,  f  rget  their  God, — but  when  any 

want    pinches    them,  then  thej   know  the    Lord  ;   BS  the  sow  when  she- 
is  full,  lcn  bul  when  she  is  hungrj . 

,  and  being  1  I,  is  silent.     "Neither,"  says  he,  -shalt 

.  nor  the  hawk,  nor  the  kite, 

<».],  r.  i\.  :;.  1.        M.i.  i\.  1.       'Dealer. x.  16.       *Thc  \  ,,!.  (\.t.-l.-r.  in 

1.  c.  11.  8  1.  >'  m.inv  ul!.. 

.  red  \\itl»  biro  in  this,—      Cottier.  •  pp.  84,  :• 

\u  in  1  met  of  the  like  land, 
/      .  '  ,lt,ir.        *  TI1.1t  in  thii 

the  RR.     \  id.  A;        I  Ed.  Oxon.  in  loc     I.,  vit  u.  1»«  ut  iiv, 

worth  on  Ler.  si  1.      ha  D   it  lir.   1.  'In  the  and 

»Dt'lt.    IN. 


OF    ST.  BARNABAS.  171 

Thou  shalt  not  keep  company  with  such  kind  of  men  as  know  not 
how,  by  their  labour  and  sweat,  to  get  themselves  food :  but  injuri- 
ously ravish  away  the  things  of  others,  and  watch  how  to  lay  snares 
for  them  ;  when  at  the  same  time  they  appear  to  live  in  perfect  inno- 
cence. [aSo  these  birds  alone  seek  no  food  for  themselves,  but]  sitting- 
idle,  seek  how  they  may  eat  of  the  flesh  which  others  have  provided ; 
being  destructive  through  their  wickedness.  «  Neither,"  says  he, 
"shalt thou  eat  the  lamprey,  nor  the  polypus,  nor  the  cuttle-fish;-'  that 
is,  thou  shalt  not  be  like  such  men,  by  using  to  converse  with  them, 
who  are  altogether  wicked"  and  adjudged  to  death.  For  so  those 
fishes  are  alone  accursed,  and  wallow  in  the  mire,  nor  swim  as  other 
fishes,  but  tumble  in  the  dirt,  at  the  bottom  of  the  deep.  But  he  adds, 
"Neither  shalt  thou  eat  of  the  hare."0'  To  what  end?  To  signify 
this  to  us:  Thou  shalt  not  be  an  adulterer;"2  nor  liken  thyself  to  such 
persons.  For  the  hare  every  year  multiplies"  the  places  of  its  concep- 
tion ;  and  as  many  years  as  it  lives,  so  many  it  has.-*'  "  Neither  shalt 
thou  eat  of  the  hyaena  ;"  that  is,  again,  be  not  an  adulterer,  nor  a  cor- 
rupter of  others  ;  neither  be  like  to  such.  And  wherefore  so?  Because 
that  creature  every  year  changes  its  kind,  and  is  sometimes  male  and 
sometimes  female."  For  which  cause  also  he  justly  hated  the  weasel ; 
to  the  end  that  they  should  not  be  like  such  persons  who  with  their 
mouths  commit  wickedness,  by  reason  of  their  uncleanness;  nor  join 
themselves  with  those  impure  women,  wTho  with  their  mouths  commit 
wickedness.  Because  that  animal  conceives  with  its  mouth."  Moses, 
therefore,  speaking  as  concerning  meats,  delivered,  indeed,  three 
great  precepts  to  them,  in  the  spiritual  signification  of  those  commands  ; 
but  they,  according  to  the  desires  of  the  flesh,  understood  him  as  if 
he  had  only  meant  it  of  meats.  And  therefore  David  took  aright  the 
knowledge  of  his  threefold  command,  saying,  in  like  manner,  "  Blessed 
is  the  man  that  hath  not  walked  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly  ;"  as 
the  fishes  before  mentioned,  in  the  bottom  of  the  deep,  in  darkness ; 
nor  stood  in  the  way  of  sinners,  as  they  who  seem  to  fear  the  Lord, 
but  yet  sin,  as  the  sow.  And  hath  not  sat  in  the  seat  of  the  scorners, 
as  those  birds  who  sit  and  watch  that  they  may  devour.  Here  you 
have  the  law  concerning  meat  perfectly  set  forth,  and  according  to  the 
true  knowledge  of  it.  But  says  Moses,  "  Ye  shall  eat  all  that  divideth 
the  hoof,  and  cheweth  the  cud ;"*  signifying  thereby  such  an  one  as 
having  taken  his  food,  knows  him  that  nourishe'h  him;  and  resting 
upon  him,  rejoiceth  in  him.     And  in  this  he  spake  well,  having  respect 


■  Vid.  Antiq.  Lai  Vers.  b  Wicked  to  the  end.  "See  Coteler.  Annotin  loc. 

d  Thou  shall  no'  abuse  thyself  with  mankind.         *Atf>6iewnv.         f'Vpimas.  siio  several 

naturalists  have  affirmed,  though  others  deny  it.     See  Anmot,  ('<>i-ltr.  inloc.  AVid. 

Arist.  npud  Euscb.  Prsep.  Evang.  lib.  viii.  c.  9.     Add.  Coteler.  in  loc.  '  Psal.  i.  1. 

*See  Edit.  Oxon.p.  64,  a.     So  Iren.  adv.  Her.  lib.  v.  c.  8. 


17'2  Till:    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

to  the  commandment.     Whai  re  is  it  that  hi  That  we 

should  bold  las*,  to  them  that  fear  the  Lord — with  those  who  meditate 
on  the  command  of  the  word  which  thej  have  received  in  their  heart — 
with  those  that  declare  the  righteous  judgments  of  the  Lord,  and  keep 
his  commandments ;  in  short,  with  those  who  know  that  to  meditate 
is  a  work  of  p]  md  therefore  exercise  themselves  in'  the  word 

of  the  Lord.     Bat  why  might  they  eat  those  that  clave  the  hoof? 

B  us  liveth  in  this  present  world;  but  :  ation 

is  fixed  upon  the  other.     See,  brethren,  how  admirably  M 

manded  these  thin         :       how  should  we  thus  know  all  tins,  and 

understand   it  ;     We,  therefore,  understanding  aright  the  command- 
lalc  as  the  Lord  would  have  us.      Wherefore  he  has  eircura- 
cised  our  cars  and  our  hearts,  that  we  might  know  these  things. 

XI.  Let  us  now  inquire  whether  the  Lord  took  care  to  manifest  any 
thing  beforehand  concerning  water  and  the  cross  ?  Now  for  the  former 
of  these,  it  (8  written  to  :1k-  people  «'f  [srael,  how  they  shall  not  receive- 
that  baptism  which  belongs  to  forgiveness  of  sins;  but  shall  institute 
another  to  themselves  that  cannot.  For  thus  saith  the  prophet :  "  Be 
astonished,  0  heaven!  and  let  the  earth  tremble  at  it,  because  this 
people  have  done  two  great  and  wicked  things:  they  left  me,  the 
fountain  of  living  water,  and  have  digged  for  themselves  broken 
terns,  that  can  hold  no  water.  Is  my  holy  mountain,  Zion,'  a  desolate 
wilderness?  For  ve  shall  be  as  a  young  bird  when  its  not  is  taken 
away."4  And  again  the  prophet  saith,  "I  will  go  before  thee,  ami 
will  make  plain  the  mountains,  and  will  break  the  gates  of  brass,  and 
will  snap  in  sunder  the  bars  of  iron  ;  and  will  give  thee  dark,  and  hid- 
den, and  invisible  treasures,  that  they  ma)  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 
God.'"  And  again,  "He  shall  dwell  in  the  high  den  of  the  strong 
."  And  then  what  follows  in  the  same  prophet?  lk  His  water  is 
faithful  :  ye  shall  see  the  King  with  glory,  and  your  soul  shall  learn 
the  fear  of  the  Lord."*    Ami  again  la-  saith,  in  another  prophet,  he 

that  d  ■■  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the   curie;. 

water,  which  shall  give  its  fruit  in  its  Beason.  Its  leaf  also  shall  not 
wither,  and  whatsoever  he  doth  it  shall  prosper.     A-  for  the  wicked  i; 

11  not  BO  with  them  ;  but  they  are  as  the  dust  which  the  wind  scattered! 

from  the  die  earth.     Therefore  the  ungodly  shall  not 

stand  in  the  judgment,  neither  the  sinners  in  the  conned   of  the  right- 
eous.    For  the  Lord  Iraoweth  the  waj  of  the  righteous,  and  the  way 
<»f  the  ungodlj  shall  perish."1    Consider  how  he  has  joined  both  the 
j  and  the  water  together,     for  this  he  saith,  Bl(  they  who, 

putting  their  trust  in  the  d  into   the  water:   tor  they  shall 

I  I  ".mm.  Alex.  lib.  in.  l'nl.u-.  <•.  ii.     El  maSL  Orig.  Tin        A 

Amiot.  in  i.i.-.         > Rmmmmmti  upom,         'Vid.Annot.Coteler.e4  E     0 
\\i.  l.'J.        'Jer.ii.18.        •  lea. xl*. S, &        'ba.xxxiiL  16, 17.        iFnLi 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  173 

have  their  reward  in  due  time  ;  then,  saith  he,  will  I  give  it  to  them. 
But  as  concerning  the  present  time,  he  saith,  their  leaves  shall  not  fall ; 
meaning  thereby  that  every  word  that  shall  go  out  of  your  mouth,  shall, 
through  faith  and  charity,  be  to  the  conversion  and  hope  of  many.  In 
like  manner  does  another  prophet  speak  :  "  And  the  land  of  Jacob  was 
the  praise  of  all  the  earth  ;"a  magnifying"  thereby  the  vessel  of  his 
spirit.0  And  what  follows  ?  «  And  there  was  a  river  running  on  the 
right  hand,  and  beautiful  trees  grew  up  by  it;  and  he  that  shall  eat  of 
them  shall  live  for  ever."  The  signification  of  which  is  this — That 
we  go  down  into  the  water  full  of  sins  and  pollutions,  but  com'e  up 
again,  bringing  forth  fruit ;  having  in  our  hearts  the  fear  and  hope 
which  is  in  Jesus,  by  the  Spirit.  "  And  whosoever  shall  eat  of  them 
shall  live  for  ever ;"  that  is,  whosoever  shall  hearken  to  those  who  call 
them,  and  shall  believe,  shall  live  for  ever. 

XII.  In  like  manner  he  determines  concerning  the  cross  of  another 
prophet/ saying,  " And  when  shall  these  things  be  fulfilled?"  The 
Lord  answers,  «  When  the  tree  that  is  fallen  shall  rise,  and  when  blood 
shall  drop  down  from  the  tree."  Here  you  have  again  mention  made, 
both  of  the  cross,  and  of  him  that  was  to  be  crucified  upon  it.  And* 
yet,  farther,  he  saith  by  Moses  (when  Israel  was  fighting  with,  and 
beaten  by,  a  strange  people  ;  to  the  end  that  God  might  put  them7  in 
mind  how  that  for  their  sins  they  were  delivered  unto  death ;)  yea  the 
Holy  Spirit  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Moses,  to  represent  both  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  and  of  him  that  was  to  suffer ;  that  so  they  might  know 
that  if  they  did  not  believe  in  him,  they  should  be  overcome  for  ever. 
Moses,  therefore,  piled  up  armour  upon  armour^  in  the  middle  of  a 
rising  ground,  and  standing  up  high  above  all  of  them,  stretched  forth 
his  arms  ;  and  so  Israel  again  conquered.  But  no  sooner  did  he  let 
down  his  hands,  but  they  were  again  slain.  And  why  so  ?  To  the 
end  they  might  know,  that  except  they  trust  in  Him  they  cannot  be 
saved.  And  in  another  prophet  he  saith,  "  I  have  stretched  out  my 
hands  all  the  day  long  to  a  people  disobedient,  and  speaking  against 
my  righteous  way.""  And  again  Moses  makes  a  type*  of  Jesus  to 
show  that-  he  was  to  die  ;  and  then  that  he,  whom  they  thought  to  be 
dead,  was  to  give  life  to  others;  in  the  type"  of  those'  that  fell  in 
Israel.  For  God  caused  all  sorts  of  serpents  to  bite  them,  and  they 
died  ;  forasmuch  as  by  a  serpent  transgression  began  in  Eve  ;  that  so 
he  might  convince  them,  that  for  their  transgressions  they  shall  be  de- 

•Zech.  iii.  19.  6  For  ro'Vo  Xryn,  and  8,  the  old  interpreter  did  not  read;  and  Cle- 
mens Alex.  lib.  iii.  Strom,  p.  403,  transcribing  this  passage,  hath  them  not.  c  i.  e. 
The  body  of  Christ.  <'  \  id.  Conject.  Edit.  Oxon.  Com.  iv.  Esd.  v.  4.  Et  Obs.  Cotel. 
in  loc.  e  See  St.  Hier.in  like  manner.  Annot.  D.  Bernard,  p.  124.  Edit.  Oxon.  Exod. 
xvii.  /That  were  so  beaten.  *  Jlgnin  set  them  in  array,  being  armed — Lat  Vers. 
*Isa.  lxv.  2.  'So  Irensus,  Just.  Mart.,  St.  Chrysost.,  &c.  Vid.  Edit.  Oxon.  p.  77,  a. 
*  Sign.         l  Israel  falling. 

p2 


174  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

livcred  into  the  pain  of  death.      M  then  himself,  who  had  com- 

led  them,  saying,  "Ye  shall  aot  make  to  youi  tny  graven 

or  molten  image,  to  be  your  god,"  '  y- 1  now  did  bo  himself,  that  he 
•  to  them  the  figure  of  the  Lord  h  he  made 

a  brazen  serpent,  and  Bet  it  up  on  high,  and  called  the  people  tog 
by  a  proclamation ;  where,  1       .  Moses  th 

would  make  an  atonement  for  them,  and  pray  that  they  might  be  h< 
Then  Moses  spake  unto  them,  saying,  when  any  one  among  you  shall 
be  bitten,  "let  him  come  unto  the  serpent  that  is  set  upon  the  ; 
and  let  him  assuredly  trust  in  him,  mat  though  he  he  dead,  yet  he  is 
able  to  give  life,  and  presently  he  shall  be  saved;"  and   so   the. 
S  .  bow  here  also  you  have  in  this  the  glory  of  Jesus  ;  «  and 

that  in  him,  and  to  him,  are  all  things.'" b  Again,  what  says  Moses  to 
I  -  the  son  of  Nun,  when  he  gave  that  name  unto  him,  as  being  a 
prophet,  that  all  the  people  might  hear  him  alone,  because  the  Father" 
did  manifest  all  things  concerning  his  Son  Jesus,  in  Jei  -n  of 

Nun  ;  and  gave  him  that  name  when  he  sent  him  to  spy  out  the  land 
of  Canaan  ;  he  said,  «  Take  a  book  in  thine  hands  and  write  what  the 
Lord  saith:  forasmuch  as  Jesus,  the  son  of  God,  shall  in  the  last  days 
cut  off  by  the  roots  all  the  house  of  Amalech."'  Sec  here  again 
I  ,  not  the  son  of  man,  but  the  Son  of  God,  made  manifest  in  a 
type  and  in  the   flesh.     But  because  it  might  hereaftt  ;  I  that 

Christ  was  the  Son  of  David  ;  -'therefore  David,  fearing  and  well  know- 
ing the  errors  of  the  wicked,  saith,  "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool/ 
And  again  [saiafa  speaketh  on  this  wise,  «  The  Lord  said  unto  Christ'* 
my  Lord,  I  have  laid  hold  (in  his  right  hand,  that  the  nations  should 
obey  before  him,  and  I  will  break  the  strength  of  Iring8."  Behold 
how  b"th  David1  and  Isaiah  call  him  Lord,  and  the  Son  of  God. 

Kill.  But  let  us  go  yet  farther,  and  inquire  whether  his  people  be 
the  beir,  or  the  former;  and  whether  the  covenant  be  with  us,  or  with 
them.  And  first,  as  concerning  the  people,  hear  now  what  the  Scrip- 
ture saith.  baac*  prayed  for  his  wife  Rebekah,  because  she  was 
barren  ;  and  she  conceived.  Afterwards  Rebekah  went  forth  to  inquire 
of  the  Lord.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  "There  are  two  nations 

in  thy  Womb,  and  two  people  shall   mine  from  thy  body;   and  the  one 

shall  ha\  <•  power  over  the  other,  and  tin'  greater  shall  sen  e  the  les 
Understand  here,  who  was  [saac,  who  Rebekah,  and  o\  whom  it  was 

Id  that  this  people  should  be  greater  than  that.      And    in   a:. 

prophecy,  Jacob   speaketh   more  clearly  to  his  son  Joseph,  saying, 

°  Dent  wmi.  !•'••        >Rom.xLS6,  DeotrrnL  15,  18          Botha  other  fcl 

JuetMart,d   .     \  i,l.  Edit  M\.. M.  |  'Vid.Interpr.Vet  Lat     Bxod.zrn.14. 

'  r,.m|i.  \ ■<•!.  I,  a.  liiirrp.        rPnLez.  I.  kVkL  Annot.  Coteler.  ii 

I   •.  \|v.  !.           I  j>.         MIi  ii.  \w.  II.                   L  Paul, 

L  Marl  Bl,  a. 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  175 

"  Behold,  the  Lord  hath  not  deprived  me  of  seeing  thy  face  ;  bring  me 
thy  sons  that  I  may  bless  them."a  And  he  brought  unto  his  father 
Manasseh b  and  Ephraim,  desiring  that  he  should  bless  Manasseh,  be- 
cause he  was  the  elder.  Therefore  Joseph  brought  him  to  the  rio-ht 
hand  of  his  father  Jacob.  But  Jacob,  by  the  Spirit,  foresaw  the  figure 
of  the  people  that  was  to  come.  And  what  saith  the  Scripture  ?  "  And 
Jacob  crossed  his  hands,  and  put  his  right  hand  upon  Ephraim,  his 
second  and  the  younger  son,  and  blessed  him."  And  Joseph  said 
unto  Jacob,  "  Put  thy  right  hand  upon  the  head  of  Manasseh,  for  he 
is  my  first-born  son."  And  Jacob  said  unto  Joseph,  "I  know  it,  my 
son,  I  know  it ;  but  the  greater  shall  serve  the  lesser,  though  he  also 
shall  be  blessed."  Ye  see  of  whom  he  appointed  it,  that  they  should 
be  the  first  people,  and  heirs  of  the  covenant.  If  therefore,  God  shall 
have  yet  farther  taken  notice  of  this  by  Abraham  too,  our  understand- 
ing of  it  will  then  be  perfectly  established.  What  then  saith  the  Scrip- 
ture0 to  Abraham,  when  he  "believed;  and  it  was  imputed  unto  him 
for  righteousness  ?  Behold,  I  have  made  thee  a  father  of  the  nations, 
which  without  circumcision  believe  in  the  Lord." 

XIV.  Let  us,  therefore,  now  inquire  whether  God  has  fulfilled  the 
covenant,  which  he  sware  to  our  fathers  that  he  would  give  the  people? 
Yes,  verily,  He  gave  it :  but  they  were  not  worthy  to  receive  it,  by 
reason  of  their  sins.  For  thus  saith  the  prophet:  "And  Moses  con- 
tinued fasting  in  Mount  Sinai,  to  receive  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
with  the  people,  forty  days  and  forty  nights." a  And  he  received  of 
the  Lord  two  tables,  written  with  the  finger6  of  the  Lord's  hand  in  the 
Spirit.  And  Moses,  when  he  had  received  them,  brought  them  down, 
that  he  might  deliver  them  to  the  people.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  "  Moses,  Moses,  get  thee  down  quickly,  for  the  people  which 
thou  broughtest  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  have  done  wickedly."  /  And 
Moses  understood  that  they  had  again  set  up  a  molten  image  ;  and  he 
cast  the  two  tables  out  of  his  hands ;  and  the  tables  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord  were  broken.  Moses,  therefore,  received  them,  but  they 
were  not  worthy.  Now,  then,  learn  how  we  have  received  them  : 
Moses,  being  a  servant,  took  them  ;  but  the  Lord  himself  has  given 
them  unto  us,  that  we  might  be  the  people  of  his  inheritance,  having 
suffered  for  us.  He  was,  therefore,  made  manifest,  that  they  should 
fill  up  the  measure  of  their  sins,  and  that  we,  being*  made  heirs  by 
him,  should  receive  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  again 
the  prophet  saith,  « Behold  I  have  set  thee  for  a  light  unto  the 
Gentiles,  to  be  the  Saviour  of"  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  saith  the 
Lord,  the  God  who  hath  redeemed  thee."'     Who  for  that  very  end 

°  Gen.  xlviii.         *  Vid.  Lat.  Intcrp.  Vet.  c  Gen.  xv.  6 ;  xvii.  5.     So  St.  Paul  him- 

self applies  this,  Rom.  iv.  3.         dExod.  xxiv.  18.  e  Deut.  ix.  10.     Exod.  xxxi.   12. 

>d.  xxxii.  7.     Deut.  ix.  12.  *Vid.  Lat.  Interp.  Vet  *  For  salvation  unto. 

'  ..-a.  xlix.  6. 


176  THE   CATBOLIC   EPISTLE 

was  prepared,  that  by  his  own  appearing,  be  might  redeem  our  hearts, 
already  devoured  by  death,  and  delivered  over  to  the  irregularity  of 
error,  from  darkness;  and  establish  a  covenant  with  us  by  bis 
For  so  it  is  written,  that  the  Father  commanded  him,  by  delivering  us 
from  darkness,  to  prepare  unto  himself  a  holy  people.  Wherefore  the 
prophet  saith,  "I  the  Lord  thy  God  have  called  thee  in  righteous- 
.  and  I  will  take  thee  by  thy  Land,  ami  will  strengthen  thee  ;   and 

give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  fox  a  light  of  the  Gentiles:  to 
open  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison, 
and  them  that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the  prison-house. "*  Consider, 
therefore,  from  whence  we  have  been  redeemed.  And  again  the  pro- 
phet saith,  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath 
anointed  me  :  he  bath  sent  me  to  preach  glad  tidings  to  the  lowly  ;  to 
heal  the  broken  in  heart ;  to  preach  remission  to  the  captives,  ami  sight 
unto  the  blind  ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
day  of  restitution  ;  to  comfort  all  that  mourn."" 

XV.  Furthermore  it  is  written  concerning  the  sabbath,  in  the  ten 
commandments'  which  God  spake  in  the  Mount  Sinai  to  Moses,  face 
to  face  ;  ^ Sanctify  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord  with  pure  hands  and  a 
clean  heart." d  And  elsewhere  he  saith,  "If  thy  children  shall  keep 
my  sabbaths,  then  will  I  put  my  mercy  upon  them."'  And  even  in 
the  beginning  of  the  creation,  he  makes  mention  of  the  sabbath :  "and 
God  made  in  six  days  the  works  of  his  hands  ;  and  he  finished  them 
on  the  seventh-1  day,  and  he  rested  the  seventh  d^y,  and  sanctified  it."* 
Consider,  my  children,  what  that  signifies, — he  finished  them  in  six 
days.  The  meaning  of  it  is  this, — that  in  six  thousand  years,  the  Lord 
God  will  bring  all  thing-;  to  an  end."  For  with  him  one  day  is  a  thou- 
sand years  :  a-  himself  testifieth,  saying,  "Behold  this  day  shall  be  as 
a  thousand  years."1  Therefore,  children,  in  six  days,  that  is,  in  six 
thousand  years,  shall  all  things'  be  accomplished.  And  what  is  that 
lith,  " And  he  rested  the  seventh  day ?,J  lb'  meaneth  this,  that 
when  his  Son  shall  come,  and  abolish  the  season  of  the  wicked  one,1 
and  judge  the  ungodly  ;  ami  shall  change  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  ami 
tars;  then  he  shall  gloriouslj  rest  on  that  seventh  day.  He  adds, 
lastly,   "Thou   Shalt    sanctity  it  with   clean   hands  and  a  pure   heart. " 

Wherefore  we  are  greatly  deceived  if  we  imagine  that  any  one  can 
now  sanctify  thai  day  which  God  has  made  holy,  without  having  a 

heart  pure  in  all  things.      Behold,  then  fore,  He  will  then  trulj 

it  with  blessed  rest,  when  we  (having  received  the  righteous  promi.se, 

when  iniquity  shall  be  no  more,  all  things  1»<  ing  renewed  by  the  I. 

•  Im.  \in.r,.  7.         i  Ni.Im.  1,1     Cotnp.  Lokc  iv.  is.        ■  Worth,  I 

8.        'Jflr.xvu.84.        /Vnl.  Cm  .  in  i.m-.        rQflo. U. S.     Bsod.xx.  11; 

xxxi.  17.        *  How  general  this  tradition  thru  v  i     .  \  r.  Annot.  in  l<x\  Edit  <  Hon. 

i\wi\.  1.        » Tlmt  fa,  to  the  tune  of  the  gospel,  moid, 

«j.  s.  Annot.  |>.   127,  Bd.  <  >vn.  '  Bo  ttu    L  ll 


OF    ST.    BARNABAS.  177 

shall  be  able  to  sanctify  it,  being  ourselves  first  made  holy.  Lastly, 
he  saith  unto  them,  «  Your  new  moons  and  your  sabbaths,  I  cannot 
bear  them." a  Consider  what  he  means  by  it ; — the  sabbaths,  says  he, 
which  ye  now  keep,  are  not  acceptable  unto  me,  but  those  which  I 
have  made  ;  when  resting  from  all  things,  I  shall  begin  the  eighth  day,* 
that  is,  the  beginning  of  the  other  world.  For  which  cause  we  ob- 
serve the  eighth  day  with  gladness,  in  which  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead  ; 
and  having  manifested  himself  to  his  disciples,  he  ascended  into 
heaven. 

XVI.  It  remains  yet  that  I  speak  to  you  concerning  the  temple ; 
how  those  miserable  men  being  deceived,  have  put  their  trust  in  the 
house,0  and  not  in  the  God  himself  who  made  them ;  as  if  it  were  the 
habitation  of  God.  For  much  after  the  same  manner  as  the  Gentiles, 
they  consecrated  him  in  the  temple.  But  learn,  therefore,  how  the 
Lord  speaketh,  rendering  the  temple  vain:  "Who  has  measured  the 
heaven  with  a  span,  and  the  earth  with  his  hand?  Is  it  not  I?"d 
Thus  saith  the  Lord, — "  Heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth  is  my 
footstool.  What  is  the  house  that  ye  will  build  me  ?  Or  what  is  the 
place  of  myrest?"e  Know,  therefore,  that  all  their  hope  is  vain. 
And  again,  he  speaketh  after  this  manner:  "  Behold,  they  that  destroy 
this  temple,  even  they  shall  again  build  it  up."*  And  so  it  came  to 
pass ;  for  through  their  wars  it  is  now  destroyed  by  their  enemies ; 
and  the  servants  of  their  enemies  build  it  up.  Furthermore  it  has 
been  made  manifest,  how  both  the  city  and  the  temple,  and  the  people 
of  Israel  should  be  given  up.  For  the  Scripture  saith,  "And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  Lord  will  deliver  up  the  sheep 
of  his  pasture,  and  their  fold,  and  their  tower  unto  destruction."5  And 
it  has  come  to  pass  as  the  Lord  hath  spoken.  Let  us  inquire,  there- 
fore, whether  there  be  any  temple  of  God  ?  Yes,  there  is ;  and  that 
there,  where  himself  declares  that  he  would  both  make  and  perfect  it. 
For  it  is  written,  "  And  it  shall  be,  that  as  soon  as  the  week  shall  be 
completed,  the  temple  of  the  Lord  shall  be  gloriously  built  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.""  I  find,  therefore,  that  there  is  a  temple.  But  how 
shall  it  be  built  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ?  I  will  show  you.  Before 
that  we  believed  in  God,  the  habitation  of  our  heart  was  corruptible 
and  feeble,  as  a  temple  truly  built  with  hands.  For  it  was  a  house 
full  of  idolatry,  a  house  of  devils :  inasmuch  as  there  was  done  in  it 
whatsoever  was  contrary  unto  God.  But  it  shall  be  built  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  Consider,  how  that  the  temple  of  the  Lord  should  be 
very  gloriously  built ;  and  by  what  means  that  shall  be,  learn.  Having 
received  remission  of  our  sins,  and  trusting  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 

aIsa.  i.  13.  *So  the  other  Fathers,  q.  v.  apud  Coteler.  Annot.  in  loc.  p.  36. 

■  Vid.  Edit.  Oxon.  et  Vet.  Lat.  Interp.  d  Isa.  xl.  12.         ■  Isa.  Ixvi.  1.  /Isa.  xlix. 

17.         e  Zcphan.  ii.  6,  juxt.  Ileb.         *  Dan.  ix.     Haggai  ii. 

23 


178  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

we  are  become  renewed,  being  again  created,  as  it  were,  from  the  be- 
ginning. Whi  God  truly  dwells  in  OOI  house,  that  is,  in  us. 
But  how  does  he  dwell  in  OS?  The  word  of  his  faith,  the  calling  of 
his  promise,  the  wisdom  of  his  righteous  judgments,  the  commands  of 
liis  doctrine.  He  himself  prophesies  within  us:  lit-  himself  dwelleth 
in  us,  and  openetfa  to  us,  who  were  in  bondage  of  death,  the  gate  of 
our  temple;'  that  is.  the  mouth  of  wisdom  ;  haying  given  repentance 
unto  us;  and,  by  this  means,  he  has  brought  us  to  be  an  incorruptible 
temple.  He  therefore  that  desires  to  be  saved  lookcth  not  unto  the 
man,  but  unto  him  that  dwelleth  in  him,  and  speaketfa  by  him  ;  I 
struck  with  wonder,  forasmuch  as  he  never  either  heard  him  speaking 
such  words  out  of  his  mouth,  nor  ever  desired  to  hear  them.  This  is 
that  spiritual  temple  that  is  built  unto  the  Lord. 

\\  II.  And  thus,  I  trust,  I  have  declared  to  you  as  much,  and  with 
as  great  simplicity  as  I  could,  those  things  which  make  for  your  salva- 
tion, so  as  not  to  have  omitted  any  thing  that  might  be  requisite  there- 
unto. For  should  I  speak  farther  of  the  things  that  now b  are,  and 
of  those  that  are  to  come,  you  would  not  yet  understand  them,  seeing 
tie  v  lie  in  parables.     This,  therefore,  shall  suffice  as  to  these  things. 

Will.  Let  us  now  go  on  to  the  other  kind  of  knowledge  and  doc- 
trine. There  are  two  ways  of  doctrine  and  power;  the  one  of  light, 
the  other  of  darkness.  But  there  is  a  great  deal  of  difference  between 
these  two  wavs  ;  for  over  one  are  appointed  the  angelsc  of  God,  the 
leaders  of  the  way  of  light;  over  the  other,  the  angels  of  Satan.  And 
the  <>ne  is  the  Lord  from  everlasting  to  everlasting;  the  other  is  the 
prince  of  the  time  of  unrighteousness. 

XIX.  Now  the  way  of  light  is  this,  if  any  one  desires  to  attain  to 
the  place  that  is  appointed  for  him,  and  will  hasten  thither  by  his 
works.  And  the  knowledge  that  has  been  given  to  us  for  walking  in 
it,  is  to  this  effeel  :  '  Thou  shalt  love  him  that  made  thee.  *  Thou  shah 
glorify  him  that  hath  redeemed  thee  from  death.  *  Thou  shalt  he  sim- 
ple in  heart,  and  *  rich  in  the  Spirit.  *  Thou  shalt  not  cleave  to  those 
that  walk  in  the  w;iy  of  death.  *  Thou  shalt  hate  to  do  any  thing  that 
is  not  pleasing  unto  (  fed.  *  Thou  shalt  abhor  all  dissimulation.  *  Thou 
shalt  not  negled  any  of  the  Commands  Of  the  Lord.  *  Thou  shalt  not 
exalt  thyself,  hut  shalt   he   humble.      'Thou   shalt  not    take  honour  to 

thyself  'Thou  shall  not  enter  into  any  wicked  counsel  against  thy 
neighbour.     *Thou  shalt  ool  be  over-confident  in  thy  heart.     'Thou 

shalt  not  Commit  *  fornication  nor  *  adultery.  Neither  shalt  thou  'cor- 
rupt thyself  with  mankind.  '  Thou  shalt  not  make  use  of  the  word  of 
(Sod   to   any  impurity.        "Thou    Shalt    QOt    accept    any    man's   person, 

when  thou  reprovest  any  one's  faults.    'Thou  shalt  he  gentle.    iThou 

•  ViJ.  Lat  V.  r.  IiiUtj).  B|  the  old  Lat.  lnU-rp.  '  Vid.  Cottier,  in  loc.      Et 

Basil,  in  PaaL  i. 


OF    ST.   BARNABAS.  179 

shalt  be  quiet.  *  Thou  shalt  tremble  at  the  words  which  thou  hast 
heard.  *  Thou  shalt  not  keep  any  hatred  in  thy  heart  against  thy  bro- 
ther. *  Thou  shalt  not  entertain  any  doubt  whether  it  shall  be  or  not. 
*Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain.  *Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  above  thy  own  soul.  *  Thou  shalt  not  destroy  thy 
conceptions  before  they  are  brought  forth ;  nor  kill  them  after  they  are 
born.  *Thou  shalt  not  withdraw  thy  hand  from  thy  son,  or  from  thy 
daughter ;  but  shalt  teach  them  from  their  youth  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 

*  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  goods ;  neither  shalt  thou  be 
an  extortioner."  *  Neither  shall  thy  heart  be  joined  to  proud  men  ; 
but  thou  shalt  be  numbered  among   the  righteous  and  the  lowly. 

*  Whatever  events6  shall  happen  unto  thee,  thou  shall  receive  them  as 
good.  *  Thou  shalt  not  be  double-minded  or  double-tongued ;  for  a 
double  tongue  is  the  snare  of  death.  *  Thou  shalt  be  subject  unto 
the  Lord,  and  to  inferior  masters  as  to  the  representatives  of  God,  in 
fear  and  reverence.  *  Thou  shalt  not  be  bitter  in  thy  commands  to- 
wards any  of  thy  servants  that  trust  in  God  ;  lest  thou  chance  not  to 
fear  him  who  is  over  both ;  because  he  came  not  to  call  any  with 
respect  of  persons ;  but  whomsoever  the  Spirit  had  prepared.  *  Thou 
shalt  communicate  to  thy  neighbour  of  all  thou  hast ;  thou  shalt  not 
call  any  thing  thine  own :  for  if  ye  partake  in  such  things  as  are  incor- 
ruptible, how  much  more  should  ye  do  it  in  those  that  are  corruptible  ? 
c*Thou  shalt  not  be  forward  to  speak,  for  the  mouth  is  the  snare  of 
death.  d*  Strive  for  thy  soul  with  all  thy  might.  e*  Reach  not  out 
thine  hand  to  receive,  and  withhold  it  not  when  thou  shouldest  give. 

*  Thou  shalt  love,  as  the  apple  of  thine  eye,  every  one  that  speaketh 
unto  thee  the  word  of  the  Lord.  f*  Call  to  thy  remembrance,  day 
and  night,  the  future  judgment.  *Thou  shalt  seek  out  every  day  the 
persons  of  the  righteous  ;e  *and  both  consider,  and  go  about  to  exhort 
others  by  the  word,  and  meditate  how  thou  mayest  save  a  soul. 
*Thou  shalt  also  labour  with  thy  hands  to  give  to  the  poor,  that  thy 
sins  may  be  forgiven  thee.h  *  Thou  shalt  not  deliberate  whether  thou 
shouldest  give ;  *nor  having  given,  murmur  at  it.  *  Give  to  every 
one  that  asks ;  so  shalt  thou  know  who  is  the  good  re  warder  of  thy 
gifts.  *  Keep  what  thou  hast  received ;  thou  shalt  neither  add  to  it, 
nor  take  from  it.  *  Let  the  wicked  be  always  thy  aversion.  *  Thou 
shalt  judge  righteous  judgment.  *Thou  shalt  never  cause  divisions: 
but  shalt  make  peace  between  those  that  are  at  variance,  and  bring 


a  Greedy,  it\a>vocrris.  b  Effects.  •  See  Ecclus.  iv.  34.  d  Ibid.  ver.  33.  For  so 
I  chose  to  read  it,  imp  7%  i//ux»)s  <rov  dyuvcioas,  according  to  the  conjecture  of  Coteleriue. 
1  Ibid.  ver.  36.  /  And  remember  him  night  and  day.  The  words  hptp*$  Kpiata*  seem  to 
have  been  erroneously  inserted,  and  pervert  the  sense.  s  Gr. — Saints.         *  Gr. — For 

the  redemption  of  thy  sins.     Comp.  Dan.  iv.  24.     8ec  LXX. 


180  THE    CATHOLIC    EPISTLE 

them  together.      '  Thou  shall  conf  BS  thy  sins  ;  *and  not  come  to  thy 
prayer  with  an  evil  conscience.     This  la  the  way  of  light 

XX-  But  the  way  of  daikneas  is  crooked,  and  full  of  cursing.  For 
it  is  the  way  of  eternal  death,  with  punishment,  in  which  they  that 
walk  meet  those  things  that  destroy  their  own  souls.  Such  are — 
idolatry,  confidence,  pride  of  power,  hypocrisy,  douhle-mindedness, 
adultery,   murder,   rapine,   pride,   trail  it,   malice,  arro- 

gance, witchcraft,  covetousness,  and  the  want  of  the  fear  of  God.  In 
this  walk  those  who  are  the  persecutors  of  them  that  are  good — 1 
of  truth,  lovers  of  lies;  who  know  not  the'  reward  of  righteousni  is, 
nor  cleave  to  any  thing  that  is  good  ;  who  administer  not  righteous 
judgment  to  the  widow  and  orphan  ;  who  watch  for  wickedness,  and 
not  for  the  fear  of  the  Lord  :  from  whom  gentleness  and  patien 
far  off;  who  love  vanity,  and  follow  after  rewards ;  having  no  com- 
passion upon  the  poor  ;  nor  take  any  pains  for  such  as  are  heavy  laden 
and  oppressed :  ready  to  evil-speaking,  not  knowing  him  that  made 
them;  murderers  of  children,  corrupters  of  the  creature  of  God,  that 
turn  away  from  the  needy,  oppress  the  afflicted  ;  are  the  advocates  of 
the  rich,  but  unjust  judges  of  the  poor;  being  altogether  sinners. 

XXI.  It  is,  therefore,  fitting,  that,  learning  the  just  commands  of 
the  Lord,  which  we  have  before  mentioned,  we  should  walk  in  them. 
For  he  who  does  such  things  shall  be  glorified  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
But  he  that  chooses  the  other  part  shall  be  destroyed  together  with  his 
works.  For  this  cause,  there  shall  be  both  a  resurrection,  and  a  retri- 
bution. I  beseech  those  that  are  in  high  estate  among  you  (if  so  be 
you  will  take  the  counsel  which  with  a  good  intention  I  offer  to  you  :) 
you  have  those  with  you  towards  whom  you  may  do  good ;  do  not  for- 
them.  For  the  day  is  at  hand  in  which  all  things  shall  be  de- 
stroyed, together  with  the  wicked  one.  The  Lord  is  near,  ami  his 
reward  is  with  him.  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  again  and  again,  he  as 
good  lawgivers  to  one  another:  continue  faithful  counsellors  to  each 
other:  remove  from  among  you  all  hypocrisy.  And  may  God,  the 
Lord  of  all  the  world,  give  you  wisdom,  knowledge,  counsel,  and 
understanding  of  his  judgments  in  patience!  IV  ye  taught  of  I 
seeking  what  it  is  the  Lord  requires  of  you,  and  doing  it ;  tfa 

ived  10  the  day  of  judgment.      And   if  ti  ;   any 

remembrance  of  what  is  good,  think  of  me;  meditating  upon  these" 
things,  that  both  my  desire  and  mj  watching  for  you  may  turn 
good  account.     I  beseech  you,  I  ask  it  as  a  favour  of  you, 
are  in  this  beautiful  tabernacle*  of  the  body,  be  wanting  innom 

these  things;  but  without  ceasing  seek   them,  and   fulfil    even    I 

•  letuL 


OF    ST.   BARNABAS.  181 

mand  :  for  these  things  are  fitting  and  worthy  to  be  done.  Wherefore 
I  have  given  the  more  diligence  to  write  unto  you,  according  to  my 
ability,  that  you  might  rejoice.  Farewell,  children  of  love  and  peace. 
The  Lord  of  glory,  and  of  all  grace,  be  with  your  spirit.     Amen. 

The  end  of  the  epistle  of  Barnabas,  the  apostle  and  fellow-traveller  of  St.  Paul  the 
apostle. 


Q 


riU'.LIMINAUY   DISCOUBSE 

">N   THE    SHEPHERD   01     BT.    HERMA8;    AND  ON    THE   SECOND    EPISTLE  01 
ST.    CLEMEN  t    TO    THE   COBINTH] 

Thai  thr  Hernial  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  (Rom.  \\i.  14)  was  probably  the  inther  of  that 
book  v\ fiich  is  bore  subjoined  under  his  name — There  ii  little  remaining  of  I 

e  th. in  what  is  taken  <>ut  of  h  Of  1      death — Uncertain  whether  be 

died  a  martyr — Tne  jtneient  Faihen  difided  in  then  opinions  of  this  I k:  nor  are 

our  later  critics  ;m\  lea  ;  that  tin  iv  are  man)  mi  ral  things  in  it — < )f  the  second  epistle 
of  A.  Ctemeni — That  it  is  not  of  equal  reputation  with  the  former — By  some  denied  to 
I  — It  i-  moat  probable  that  it  was  written  bj8t.Clemetti  .  ami  has  many 

lent  things,  ami  worthv  ..)'  th  it   holy  mail  in   it — These  two  j>iccv»  now  t.. 
time  translated  into  our  own  language. 

I.  Tiikre  is  not  a  greater  difference  between  the  learned  men  of  the 
present  times  concerning  the  epistle  of  St.  Barnabas,  than  there  was 
among  the  ancient  fathers  heretofore  concerning  the  authority  of  that 
book  which  next  follows  under  the  name  of  Hennas.  Who  this  Her- 
man was,  what  he  did,  and  what  he  suffered  for  the  faith's  Bake,  is  in 
great  measure  unknown  to  us.  That  there  was  one  of  that  name  at 
Rome  when  St.  Paul  wrote  his  epistle  to  the  church  there,  his  remem- 
brance of  him  (Rom.  xvi.  14 j  will  not  suffer  us  to  doubt.  Nor  is  it 
improbable  but  that  it  was  the  same  Hernias"  who  afterwards  wrote 
this  book,  and  who  appears  not  only  still  to  have  continued  his  relation 
to  the  church  of  Rome,  but  to  have  written  at  such  a  time  as  may  well 
enough  agree  to  one  of  St.  Paul's  acquaintance.  The  former  of  these 
may  be  collected  from  his  second  vision,"  which  he  seems  to  have  had 
at  the  same  time  that  Clement  was  bishop  of  Rome,  and  to  whom 
therefore  he  is  commanded  to  communicate  a  copy  of  it.  And  for  the 
latter,  might  the  conjectures  of  two  of  our  greatest  critics'  be  all' 
who  ;ip|>ly  the  affliction  of  which  lie  speaks  in  another  of  his  \iv 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  thru  at  hand,  it  would  follow,  that  this 
book  must  have  been  written  within  twelve  years  after  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans;  and  so  in  all  probability  by  that  Hermas  of  whom  N 

Paul  speaks  in  that  epistle.      But  though   I  rather  think   that  tin'  tl 

laiion  which  Hennas'  foretold  relates  to  the  persecution  under  Domitian, 

because  it  is  there  Said  to  be  the  trial  of  the  Christians  who  should   be 
«  tried  ;is  gold  in  the  fi r« • , " '  but  yet  should  overcome'  it  ami  not  be  hurt 

by  it,  (a  character  thai  exactly  agrees  with  what  Tertullian  I  'hat 

persecution,   jrel  even  mis  does  not  hinder  but  that  the  Hennas  men- 

•  Via.  Baron.  Aim..:.  ii.  num.  i.  " 

Hammond  mi. l  Mr.  D...lu.  II.    Bee  Di  Cere's  Hist  Literar.  in  Hena  *  Vis.  iv 

i  [kid.  see.  1.         '  I   .      i       : 

182 


ON    THE    SHEPHERD   OF    ST.    HERMAS.  183 

tioned  by  St.  Paul  might  still  be  living,  and  be  the  author  of  the  book 
we  here  have  under  his  name. 

2.  Hence  Origen,"  in  his  homily  upon  that  place  of  St.  Paul  before 
mentioned,  delivers  it  as  his  opinion,  that  it  was  the  Hermas  there 
spoken  of  who  wrote  this  book.  But  Eusebius"  does  more ;  he  tells  us 
that  it  was  the  received  opinion  in  those  days  that  it  was  composed  by 
him.  And  that  it  continued  to  be  so  in  the  age  after,  St.  Hierome0 
witnesses,  who  speaks  yet  more  positively  than  Eusebius  to  the  same 
purpose.  From  all  which,  we  may  conclude  what  is  to  be  judged  of 
that  mistake  which  our  latter  writers  have  fallen  into,  by  their  too  cre- 
dulous following  the  dauthor  of  the  poem  against  Marcion  under  the 
name  of  Tertullian,  viz.  that  it  was  written  by  Hermes,  brother  to  Pope 
Pius;  in  which,  not  only  the  authorse  of  the  pontifical  ascribed  to  Pope 
Damasus,  and  of  the  pretended  decretal  epistles/  of  the  ancient  bishops 
of  Rome,  but  the  martyrologists  of  the  middle  ages,  Bede,  Ado,  &c, 
have  generally  been  involved. 

3.  It  is  true  Cardinal  Baronius  has  endeavoured  to  make  up  this 
difference,  by  supposing  that  the  Hermes  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  was 
brother  to  Pope  Pius,  and  so  all  parties  may  be  in  the  right.  But,  be- 
sides that  this  book  was  written  by  Hermas,  not  the  Hermes  of  whom 
St.  Paul  there  speaks, — the  difference  of  the  time5  renders  it  altogether 
incredible,  that  a  perscn  of  some  considerable  age  at  St.  Paul's  writing 
his  epistle  should  have  lived  so  long  as  that  pope's  brother  is  said  to 
have  done:  whom  the  cardinal'1  himself  observes  to  have  been  living 
164  years  after  Christ,  that  is  to  say,  107  years  after  the  writing  of  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  This  his  Epitomator  Spondanus1  was 
aware  of;  and  therefore,  though  he  seems  to  have  allowed  of  the  con- 
jecture, yet  he  could  not  choose  but  add  this  reflection  of  his  upon  it ; 
that  according  to  this  reckoning,  Hermas  must  have  been  130  years 
old  when  he  died,  and,  in  all  probability,  a  great  deal  more. 

4.  What  the  condition  of  this  Hermas  was  before  his  conversion,  we 
cannot  tell ;  but  that  he  was  a  man  of  some  consideration,  we  may  con- 
clude from  what  we  read  of  him  in  his  third  vision,"  where  he  is  said 
to  have  been  formerly  «  unprofitable  to  the  Lord"  upon  the  account 
of  those  riches  which,  after  he  became  a  Christian,  he  seems  to  have 
dispensed  in  works  of  charity  and  beneficence. 

5.  Nor  have  we  any  more  knowledge  how  he  was  converted,  than 
what  his  condition  was  before ;  it  is  probable,  from  several  passages  in 
his  book,1  that  he  was  himself  brought  over  to  Christianity  some  time 
before  his  family;  who  continued  yet  in  the  practice  of  many  and  great 

a  Horn,  in  Rom.  lib.  x.  c.  16.  fcHist.  Ecclcs.  lib.  iii.  c.  3.  e  Hieron.  de  Script,  in 
Herm.  d  Lib.  iii.  '  In  vit.  Pii  Papa;.  /  Epist  i.  attrib.  Pio  PP.  p.  194,  Edit. 

Blondcl.         e  Sec  Bcllarmin.  de  Script,  sec.  i.  p.  45,  in  Herm.         *  Annal.  Eccl.  in  fine 
anni  164.  '  Spondan.  Epitom.  Annul.  Baron,  ad  aim.  159.  *  \  is.  iii.  num.  6. 

'  Via.  i.  n.  3.     Vis.  ii.  n.  2.  3, 


184  PRELIMINARY    DIS< 

impieties.    During  this  while,  Hennas  was  not  only  very  kin  I 

but  seems  to  1.  irda  them,  rmit  them 

go  on  in  their  ild  take  any  rough  i 

with  them  to  draw  them  off  from  them. 

6.  But  this  was  not  all ;  he  not  only  patiently  bore  with  them,  but 
was  himself  disturbed  with  many  an  res,-  to  supply  them  in 
their  tncies ;  and  oftentimes  did  not  behave  him  11  as 
he  ought  to  have  done  upon  thai  account.  But  however,  being  of  an 
Ik. nest  and  upright  disposition,  and  having  a  great  sincerity  in  bis  re- 
ligion, it  pi  I  '«!  at  last  not  only  to  convince  him  of  his  faults,  in 
thus  neglecting  his  family,  but  to  give  them  grace  to  hearken  to  his 
admonitions,  and  to  embrace  at  once  both  the  Christian  faith,  and  a 

tice  aNo  suitable  thereunto. 

7.  What  he  did  after  this  we  have  no  account ;  but  that  he  lived  a 
very  strict  life  we  may  reasonably  conjecture,  in  that  it  pleased  God 
to  vouchsafe  such  extraordinary  revelations  to  him,  and  to  employ  him 
in  several  messages  to  his  church,  both  to  correct  their  manners,  and 
to  warn  them  of  the  trials  that  were  about  to  come  upon  them. 

8.  This  was  so  singular  a  grace,  even  in  those  times  of  miracles,  that 
we  find  some  other  Christians,  not  so  humble  as  they  ought  I 

came  enemies  to  him  upon  the  account  of  them.     However,  this 
not  hinder  but  that  God  still  continued  to  make  use  of  his  ministry  in 
admonishing  sinners;  and  he  as  readily  and  faithfully  went  on,  both  in 
warning  them  of  their  danger  and  in  exhorting  them  to  repent  and 
-»uls. 

9.  This  was  the  business  of  this  holy  man,  in  which  he  spent  his 
life  ;  and  if  we  may  believe  the  Roman  martyrology,  his  death  was  not 
unsuitable  to  it:   where  we  read,  that,  "  being  illustrious  for  his  mira- 

!.':  at  last  offered  himself  a  worthy  sacrifice  unto  God."  But, 
upon  what  grounds  this  is  established,  Baronius"  himself  could  not 
tell  us;  insomuch  that  in  his  Annals  he  durst  not  once  mention  the 
manner  of  his  death,  but  is  content  to  say,  "  That  having  undergone 
many  labours  and  troubles  in  the  time  of  the  persecution  under  Aure- 
lius,  (and  that  too  without  any  authority,)  he  at  last  rested  in  the  Lord, 

July  26th,  which  is,  therefoi  .  mmemoration  of  hi 

Ami  here  is  indeed  a  pleasant  mi-take,  and  worthy  <>f  the  Roma!! 

this   author,   from   the   '  which  we  are  now  dis- 

ing,  being  sometimes  called  by  the  title  of  pastor,  or  shepherd, 

the    i  rist    has  wry   gravely  divided    the    good    man 

saints;  and  they  observe  the  memorial  of  Hennas,  h,  and  of 

p,  July  26th.      Unless  we  shall  rather  say  that  this  was  indeed  the 

cardinal's  blunder,  and  the  i  ry  in  the  riirht,  to  maki 


von.  Aiiti.il 

.  a<!  ;um.  164.  J  Yi,!.  MarUrol.  RotXL  id  Man  '.,.  it  Jul 


ON   THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS.  1S5 

tinct  persons — of  St.  Hermas  mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  and  the  brother 
of  Pope  Pius  to  whom  the  passages  a  mentioned,  July  26,  do  manifestly 
belong  ;  and  erred  only  in  applying  the  character  of  pastor"  to  the  latter, 
which,  with  the  treatise  of  which  we  are  now  discoursing,  ought  (as  the 
cardinal0  has  truly  observed)  to  have  been  ascribed  to  the  former. 

10.  But  not  to  insist  any  longer  upon  the  author  of  this  book :  as 
for  the  work  itself,  we  find  both  the  ancient  fathers,  and  the  learned  of 
our  own  times,  not  a  little  divided  in  their  judgments  concerning  it. 
Some  there  are,  and  those  the  nearest  to  the  time  when  this  book  was 
written,  that  treat  it  almost  with  the  same  respect  that  they  would  do 
the  canonical  scriptures.  Irenasus"  quotes  it  under  the  very  name  of 
the  Scripture.  Origen,'  though  he  sometimes  moderates  his  opinion  of 
it,  upon  the  account  of  some  who  did  not,  it  seems,  pay  the  same 
respect  with  himself  to  it ;  yet  speaking  of  Hermas  being  the  author 
of  this  book,  in  his  Comments  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  gives  us 
this  character  of  it,  "  That  he  thought  it  to  be  a  most  useful  writing; 
and  was,  as  he  believed,  divinely  inspired."  Eusebius/  tells  us,  that, 
«  though,  being  doubted  of  by  some,  it  was  not  esteemed  canonical, 
yet  was  it  by  others  judged  a  most  necessary  book,  and  as  such  read 
publicly  in  the  churches."  And  St.  Hierome,*  having  in  like  manner 
observed  that  it  wras  "read  in  some  churches,"  makes  this  remark  upon 
it,  that  it  was  indeed  "  a  very  profitable  book ;"  and  whose  testimony 
was  often  quoted  by  the  Greek  fathers.  Athanasius71  cites  this  book, 
together  with  the  other  books  of  Scripture,  and  calls  it  "  a  most  useful 
treatise:"  and  in  another1  place  tells  us,  that  "though  it  was  not 
strictly  canonical,  yet -was  it  reckoned  among  those  books  which  the 
fathers  appointed  to  be  read  to  such  as  were  to  be  instructed  in  the 
faith,  and  desired  to  be  directed  in  the  way  of  piety." 

11.  Hence  we  may  observe,  as  a  farther  evidence  of  that  respect 
which  was  paid  to  this  book  heretofore,  that  it  was  not  only  «  openly 
read  in  the  churches,"  but  in  some  of  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  of 
the  New  Testament,  is  joined  together  with  the  other  books  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  An'  instance  of  this  Cotelerius*  offers  us  in  that  of 
the  monastery  of  St.  Germains  in  France,  in  which  it  is  continued  on 
at  the  end  of  St.  Paul's  epistles.  And  in  several  of  the  old  stichome- 
tries  it  is  put  in  the  same  catalogue  with  the  Inspired  Writings :  as 
may  be  seen  in  that  which  the  same  author1  has  published  out  of  a 
manuscript  in  the  king's  library,  in  his  observations  upon  St.  Barnabas; 
in  which  St.  Barnabas's  epistle  is  placed  immediately  before  the  Reve- 

"  Comp.  Martyrol.  Rom.  Jul.  26,  with  Baron.  Annal.  arm.  162, 164,  166.  *  Mar- 

tyrol.  Horn.  Jul.  26.  c  Annot.  b.  ad  Martyrol.     Rom.  Mail  9.  d  Lib.  iv.  ackers. 

Hseres.  ct  apud  Euscb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iv.  c.  8.  ■  Origen.  Enarrat.  in  Epist.  ud 

Rom.  p.  41 1,  D.  /  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  iii.  c.  3.  *  Catal.  Script,  in  Henn.  h  De 

Incarnat.  Verb.  torn.  i.  p.  55,  D.  «'  Epist.  Pasch.  torn.  ii.  p.  39,  40.  *  Annot.  ad 

Herm.  p.  41.         '  Annot.  in  Barnab.  p.  9,  10. 

24  q2 


1SG  PRELIMINARY    DISCOURSE 

lations;  as  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  Ilermas's  Shepherd,  are  im- 
mediately after  it. 

12.  And  yet,  after  all  this,  we  find  this  same  book  not  only  doubted 
of  by  others  among  the  ancient  fathers,  but  slighted  eveu  by  some  of 
those  who  upon  other  occasions  have  spoken  thus  highly  in  its  favour. 
Tims  St.  Jerome,0  in  Comments,  exposes  the  folly  of  that  apocryphal 
book,  as  he  calls  it,  whieh  in  his  catalogue  of  writers  lie  bad  so  highly 
applauded.  Tertullian,'  who  spake,  it'  not  honourably,  yet  Calmly, 
of  it  whilst  a  catholic,  being  become  a  Montanist,'  rejected  it,  even 
with  scorn.     Ami  most  of  the  other  fathers^  who  hai 

est  of  it  themselves,  yet  plainly  enough  insinuate  that  there  were  those 
who  did  not  put  the  same  value  upon  it.  Thus  fOrigen  mentions 
some  who  not  only  denied,  but  despised  its  authority.  And  Cassian' 
having  made  use  of  it  in  the  point  of  free  will,  Prosper-  without  more 
ado  rejected  it  as  a  testimony  of  no  value.  And  what  the  judgment 
of  the  latter  ages  was  as  to  this  matter,  especially  after  Pope  Gelasius* 
had  ranked  it  among  the  apocryphal  books,  may  be  seen  at  large  in  the 
observations  of  'Antonius  Augustinus  upon  that  decree. 

13.  How  far  this  has  influenced  the  learned  men  of  our  present  times 
in  their  censures  upon  this  work,  is  evident  from  what  many  on  all 
sides  have  freely  spoken  concerning  it ;  who  not  only  deny  k  it  to  have 
been  written  by  Hennas  the  companion  of  St.  Paul,  but  utterly  cast  it 
off,  as  a  piece  of  no  worth,  but  rather  full  of  error  and  folly.  Thus 
Baronius'  himself,  though  he  delivers  not  his  own  judgment  concern- 
ing it,  yet  plainly  enough  shows  that  he  ran  in  with  the  severest  cen- 
sures of  the  ancients  against  it;  and  in  effect  charges  it  with  favouring 
the'  Arians,  though  upon  a  mistaken  authority  of  St.  Athanasius,m  whieh 
by  no  means  proves  any  such  error  to  be  in  it.  But  Cardinal  Bellar- 
mine  n  is  more  free ;  he  tells  us  that  it  has  many  hurtful  things  in  it, 
and  particularly  that  it  favours  the  Xovatian  heresy  ;  which  yet  I  think 
a  rery  little  equity  in  interpreting  of  some  passages  thai  look  that  way, 
by  others  that  are  directly  contrary  thereunto,  would  serve  to  acquit  it 
of.    Others  are  yet  more  g  they  censure  it  as  full  of  heresies 

ami  tahles;  though  this  Labile  r  Would  he  thought  toeXCUSC,  by  telling 
US,  that    they    have  been    foisted    into   it   by  seme   later  interpolations, 

and  oughl  not  to  be  imputed  to  Hennas,  the  author  of  this  I 
11.  Nor  have  mt  those  of  the  reformed  churches  been 

1    foment  in  Habac.  i-  1 1,  foL  B8,  h.        ■  i>,  <  ir.,1.  cap.  x it.        f  De  Padicitj 
\.        '  Vid.  Teetunon.  in  Edit  Cotetar.  ]  >\  ■  PhUoeaL  c  1.  I 

Collet  \in.  c  IS.         r  Coatr.  Collat  c  xxx.  LG  .D  ■•.  w.         •  Da 

Emend.  Oratianj  DiaL  vi.  p.  63,  64,  Ipperat  torn,  ii.  titul.  V. 

B    cm.  Aiui.il.  ann.  clix.  num.  5,  B. 

Centur.  I.  in  Herm.  I  ■.  M .  B  i 

1  : 1. 1..  in.  i.  i .  .  '  .  De  Script  in  Herm.  lorn.  L  p.  431. 

( Jritic.  Bacr.  lib.  i.  c  IS,     Hoerabeck  TheoL  PP.  torn.  i.  Miecellan.  Sacr.  |>.  " 
Mednha  PP.  p.  81  b  8cript  Lu.it.  Lanroqoe  Obeerv.  in  Vind.  1 

< '  im  BUat  Lit.  p.  SI,  vV.. 


ON    THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS.  187 

whit  more  favourable  in  their  censures  of  the  present  treatise.  But, 
then,  as  the  chief  of  the  most  ancient  fathers  heretofore,  though  they 
admitted  it  not  into  the  canon  of  Holy  Scripture,  yet  otherwise  paid  a 
very  great  deference  to  it ;  so  the  more  moderate  part  of  the  learned 
men  of  our  present  times  esteem  it  as  a  piece  worthy  of  all  respect, 
and  clear  of  those  faults  which  are  too  lightly  charged  by  some  per- 
sons upon  it.  Thus  Petavius,0  none  of  the  most  favourable  critics 
upon  the  ancient  fathers,  yet  acknowledges,  as  to  the  present  book, 
that  it  was  never  censured  by  any  of  the  ancients,  as  guilty  of  any 
false  doctrine  or  heresy ;  but  especially  as  to  the  point  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  ^Cotelerius,  one  of  the  latest  editors  of  it,  esteems  it  as  an 
ecclesiastical  work  of  good  note,  and  a  great  defence  of  the  catholic 
faith  against  the  errors  of  Montanism ;  whose  judgment  is  not  only 
followed  by  their  late  historian,  cNatalis  Alexander,  but  is  made  good, 
too,  in  the  defence  of  it  against  those  objections  which  some  have 
brought  to  lessen  its  reputation.  And  for  those  of  our  own  commu- 
nion, I  shall  mention  only  two,  but  they  such  as  will  serve  instead 
of  many  to  all  judicious  persons;  who  have  at  large  justified  it  against 
the  chief  of  those  exceptions  that  have  been  taken  at  it ;  the  one,  the 
most  excellent  Bishop  Pearson,*  in  his  Vindication  of  St.  Ignatius  ;  the 
other  the  learned  Bishop  Bull/  in  his  Defence  of  the  Nicene  Faith,  in 
the  point  of  our  blessed  Saviour's  divinity ;  which  he  largely  shows 
our  present  author  to  have  been  far  from  doing  any  prejudice  unto. 

15.  Such  have  been  the  different  judgments  of  learned  men,  both 
heretofore,  and  in  our  present  times,  concerning  this  book.  It  would 
be  too  great  a  presumption  for  me  to  pretend  to  determine  any  thing 
as  to  this  matter ;  and  having  subjoined  the  work  itself  in  our  own 
language,  every  one  may  be  able  to  satisfy  himself  what  value  he 
ought  to  put  upon  it.  That  there  are  many  useful  things  to  be  found 
in  it,  but  especially  in  the  second,  and  I  think,  the  best,  part  of  it, 
cannot  be  denied.  And  for  the  other  two  :  it  must  be  considered,  that 
though  such  visions  as  we  there  read  of,  being  no  longer  continued  to 
these  latter  ages,  may  warrantably  be  despised  in  the  pretenders  of  the 
present  days  ;  yet  we  cannot  doubt  but  that,  at  the  time,  this  book  was 
written,  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  very  frequent ; 
and  we  need  not  question  but  that  such  revelations  too,  among  the 
rest,  were  communicated  to  holy  men  for  the  benefit  of  the  church. 

16.  But  I  shall  not  pursue  this  subject  any  farther:  nor  will  I  add 
very  much  to  what  I  have  before  said,  with  relation  to  St.  Clement  and 
his  first  epistle,  concerning  that  part  which  still  remains  of  a  second 
under  his  name,  and  which  concludes  the  following  collection. 

*  Prjcfat.  in  torn.  ii.     Dogm.  Theol.  c.  2,  sec.  6.  b  Not.  in  Hcrm.  p.  43,  C. 

c  Alex.  Natal,  sec.  i.  torn.  i.  p.  103,  104.  d  Vind.  Ignat.  part  i.  c.  4.  e  Defcns.  Fid. 
Nieaen.  sec.  i.  c.  2,  p.  30. 


188  PRELIMINARY    DISC0DR8E 

17.  That  this  second  epistle  was  not  of  80  gfl  itation  am 
the  primitive  fathers  as  tl                                 '  not  only  plainly  tells 
us,  but  gives  us  this  testimony  of  it,  that  he  conld  not  find  it  quoted, 
as  the  other  wa<,  by  :illy  of  them.     But  St.  .)<  rome1  is  mon 

he  represents  it  to  us  as  rejected  by  them  ;  and  Photius,r  after  him, 
calls  it  a  "spurious  piece."     And  not  to  mention  any  more,  our  most 

-id  Bishop  1  \sherd  not  only  concurs  in  the  .  hut  offers 

several  arguments  too,  in  proof  of  it. 

18.  And  yet  when  nil  is  done,  it  does  not  appear  hut  thai  St.  ( 
ment  was  the  author  of  this,  as  well  as  the  other  epi  'ken 
of:  though  it  was  not  so  much  esteemed  by,  nor  by  consequent 
generally  known  to,  the  ancients,  as  that.  In  the  manuscript'  of  St. 
Thecla,  we  find  this  set  forth  under  the  same  title  with  the  other.  And 
in  all  the  other  catalogues  of  the  ancients,  wherever  one  is  spoken  ofy 
the  other  is,  for  the  most  part,  set  together  with  it :  as  may  particularly 
be  observed  in  the  apostolical  canons/  not  to  mention  any  other  col- 
lections of  this  kind. 

19.  Nor  does  Eusebius*  deny  this  epistle  to  be  St.  Clement's,  but 
only  says  that  it  was  not  so  celebrated  as  the  other.  And  true  it  is 
we  do  not  find  it  either  so  often,  or  so  expressly  mentioned,  as  that. 
But  vet  if  the  conjecture  of  Wcndeline,"  approved  by  a  very  learned 
man'  of  our  own  country,  may  be  admitted,  Eusebius"  himself  will 
afford  us  an  instance  of  one  who  not  only  spake  of  it,  but  spake  of  it 
as  wont  to  he  publicly  read  in  the  church  of  Corinth.      For,  dlSCOUl 

of  the  epistles  of  Dionysius,  bishop  of  that  see,  he  tells  us,  that  in  one 
of  them  which  he  wrote  to  the  Romans,  he  took  notice  of  St.  Clement's 
epistle  in  these  words:  "To-day  have  we  kept  the  Lord's  day  with  all 
holiness  ;  in  which  we  have  read  your  epistle,  as  we  shall  always  con- 
tinue to  read  it,  for  our  instruction,  together  with  the  former  written  to 
us  by  Clement."  What  that  epistle  was  of  which  Dionysius  here 
speaks,  as  written  by  the  church  of  Rome  to  that  of  Corinth,  anil  pub- 
licly read  in  the  congregation  there,  does  not  appear.  Bishop  Beve- 
ridge,  after  Wendeline,  conceives  it  to  have  been  that  which  Clement 

wrote  in  the  name  of  that  church  to  them  ;  and  so  the  former  epistle, 
Spoken  of  by  Di"ii_\si'is,  will  he  this  second,  written  in  his  own  name 
to  the  Corinthians,  not  by  the  authority  of  the  Roman  church.  Bui 
this   others'    will    by  no    means   allow;   they   BUppOS€    the    letter  which 

Dionysius  sa}  i  was  read  that  day  among  them,  to  have  been  some  other 
epistle,  either  ol  v       .or  of  the  chun  h  of  Rome  ;  and  mal 


"  Ili^t.  Bcclea.  UK  iii.  e.88.        ■  !><•  Script  in  Clemente.  ■  Pbot  Cod.  l  IS,  1 18, 

l>    art  da  Script  Ignat  cap.  x.  C         '  yindicat  289. 

•  t '  in. .11.  Ixxrr.        <  lli-t.  Bcclea.  lit'-  '■*.  -  ■  88.  L  Ck  n. 

I      .  C  man.  Vindic.  lib.  ii.  e.  '•».  iec.  t«>.  p.  886.        k  Baeeb.  Hat  Ecdea.  lit*,  hr. « 
83.        •  See  Dr.  G 


ON  THE   SHEPHERD  OF    ST.  IIERMAS.  189 

this  very  passage  to  prove  that  they  had  received  but  one  epistle  from 
St.  Clement,  nor  knew  of  any  other  that  had  been  written  by  him. 

20.  And  yet  Epiphanius"  expressly  tells  us  that  this  epistle,  no  less 
than  the  foregoing,  was  in  his  time  wont  to  be  publicly  read  in  the 
congregation.  And  though  St.  Jerome  and  Photius  speak  indeed  but 
meanly  of  it  in  those  places  where  they  seem  to  deliver  the  judgment 
of  Eusebius  rather  than  their  own  opinion  ;  yet  upon  other  occasions b 
they  make  no  exception  against  the  authority  of  it,  but  equally  ascribe 
it  to  St.  Clement  with  the  other,  of  which  there  is  no  doubt. 

21.  Having  said  thus  much  concerning  these  two  last  pieces  with 
which  the  present  collection  is  concluded,  I  have  but  this  to  add,  that 
they  are  both  of  them,  now  first  of  all,  put  into  our  own  language,  and 
presented  to  the  perusal  of  the  English  reader :  the  former  from  the 
old  Latin  version,  which  is  by  some  °  much  complained  of,  though  by- 
others*  as  stiffly  defended  ;  the  latter  from  the  original  Greek,  as  it  was 
published  by  Mr.  Patrick  Young  from  the  Alexandrian  manuscript,  the 
only  copy  that,  for  aught  appears,  does  at  this  day  remain  of  it. 

22.  If  any  one  should  ask  how  it  came  to  pass  that  our  learned 
countryman,  Mr.  Burton,  when  he  set  out  the  former  epistle  of  St. 
Clement  in  English,  did  not  subjoin  this  to  it, — the  answer  which  him- 
self" warrants  us  to  return  is  this  :  That,  taking  what  has  been  said  by 
the  ancients  before  mentioned  in  the  strictest  sense,  he  looked  upon 
this  epistle  as  a  spurious  piece ;  which,  though  it  carried  the  name  of 
St.  Clement,  was  yet  truly  no  more  his  than  those  Constitutions  and 
Recognitions  which  are  also  published  under  the  same  name,  but  are 
generally  acknowledged  to  be  none  of  his,  as  in  the  prosecution  of  this 
discourse  I  shall  take  occasion  more  fully  to  show. 

23.  As  for  the  epistle  itself,  I  have  concluded  it  somewhat  sooner 
than  the  Greek,  which  yet  remains  of  it,  does.  But  that  which  I  have 
omitted  being  only  an  imperfect  piece  of  a  sentence,  which  would  have 
made  the  conclusion  much  more  abrupt  than  it  is  now,  I  chose  rather 
to  add  what  followed  here,  than  to  continue  it  there.  And  to  make 
the  reader  the  better  amends  for  this  liberty,  I  have  not  only  subjoined 
what  remains  of  St.  Clement,  but  have  endeavoured  to  make  out  the 
sense  of  what  is  wanting  in  our  copy,  from  the  other  Clement,  who 
seems  to  have  followed  this  original. 

' «  For  the  Lord  himself,  being  asked  by  a  certain  person,  When  his 
kingdom  should  come  ?  answered,  When  two  shall  be  one,  and  that 
which  is  without  as  that  which  is  within ;  and  the  male  with  the  fe- 
male, neither  male  nor  female.  Now,  two  are  one,  when  we  speak  the 
truth  to  each  other,  and  there  is  (without  hypocrisy)  one  soul  in  two 

°  Hsres.  xxvii.  num.  6.  *  See  Hieron.  adv.  Jovin.  torn.  iii.  fol.  12.  Photius.  Cod. 
126,  in  Clem.  e  Barthius  apud  Coteler.  Not.  in  Herm.  p.  44.  d  Cotelerius,  ibid. 

«  Burton's  Notes  upon  St.  Clement,  p.  94.        /  Clem.  Rom.  ex  MS.  Regio. 


190  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

bodies:  '  and  thai  which  it  without  as  thai  which  is  within.''  He  means 
tliis  ;  he  calls  the  soul  that  which  is  within,  and  the  body  that  which 
is  without.  As,  therefor.*,  thy  bod)  appears,  so  let  thy  soul  be  seen  by 
its  good  works ;  <  and  fhe  male  with  theft  male,  neither  male  nor  female.' 
"lie  means  this:  II<-  culls  our  anger  the  male,  our  concupiscence 
the  female.  When,  therefore,  a  man  is  come  to  such  a  pass,  that  he  is 
subject  neither  to  the  one  nor  the  other  of  these,  (both  of  which,  through 
the  prevalence  of  custom,  and  an  evil  education,  cloud  and  darken 
the  reason,)  but  rather,  having  dispelled  the  mist  arising  from  them, 
and  being  full  of  shame,  shall  by  repentance  have  united  both  his  soul 
and  spirit  in  the  obedience  of  reason  ;  then,  as  Paul  says,  <  there  is  in 
ut  neither  mule  nor  female.9  " 

a  Ex.  Clem.  Alexandria 


THE 

FIRST  BOOK  OF  ST.  HERMAS, 


WniCH    IS    CALLED 


HIS  VISIONS. 


Vision  I. 

Jlgainst  filthy  and  proud  thoughts  :  also  the  neglect  of  Hernias  in  chas- 
tising his  children. 

I.  He  who  had  bred  me  up,  sold  a  certain  young  maid  at  Rome  ; 
whom,  when  I  saw  many  years  after,  I  remembered  her,  and  began  to 
love  her  as  a  sister.  It  happened,  some  time  afterwards,  that  I  saw 
her  washing  in  the  river  Tiber ;  and  I  reached  out  my  hand  unto  her, 
and  brought  her  out  of  the  river.  And  when  I  saw  her,  I  thought  with 
myself,  saying,  how  happy  should  I  be  if  I  had  such  a  wife,  both  for 
beauty  and  manners.  This  I  thought  with  myself;  nor  did  I  think  any 
thing  more.  But  not  long  after,  as  I  was  walking  and  musing  on 
these  thoughts,  I  began  to  honour  this  creature  of  God,  thinking  with 
myself  how  noble  and  beautiful  she  was.  And  when  I  had  walked  a 
little,  I  fell. asleep.  And  the  Spirit  caught  me  away,  and  carried  me 
through  a  certain  place  towards  the  right  hand,  through  which  no  man 
could  pass.  It  was  a  place  among  rocks,  very  steep,  and  unpassable 
for  water.  When  I  was  past  this  place,  I  came  into  a  plain  ;  and  there 
falling  down  upon  my  knees,  I  began  to  pray  unto  the  Lord,  and  to 
confess  my  sins.  And  as  I  was  praying,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and 
I  saw  the  woman  which  I  had  coveted,  saluting  me  from  heaven,  and 
saying,  "  Hermas,  hail!"  And  I,  looking  upon  her,  answered, 
"  Lady,  what  dost  thou  do  here?"  She  answered  me,  "  I  am  taken 
up  hither  to  accuse  thee  of  sin  before  the  Lord.""  "  Lady,"  said  I, 
"  wilt  thou  convince  me  ?"b  "  No,"  said  she  ;  "  but  hear  the  words 
which  I  am  about  to  speak  unto  thee.  God,  who  dwelleth  in  heaven, 
and  hath  made  all  things  out  of  nothing,  and  hath  multiplied  them  for 


a  In  MS.  Lambeth : — Pnecepta  sum  a  Domino  ut  pcccata  tua  arguam.      /  am  com- 
vuinded  of  the  Lord  to  reprove  thee  for  thy  sins.         bln  M8.    Wilt  thou  accuse  me  1 

191 


192  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.     HERMJ 

his  holy  church's  sake,  is  angry  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  sinned 
against  me."  And  I  answering,  said  unto  her,  "Lady,  if  I  have 
smn<  t  thee,  tell  me  where,  or  in  whatpl  vhendidi< 

speak  an  unseemly  or  dishonest  word  unto  thee?     Have  I  not  al 
med  Ihee  as  a  lady?     Have  I  not  always  reverenced 
?     Why,  then,  dosl  t]  wicked  things  against 

me?"     Then  she,  smiling  uj  said,  "  The  desire  of  naughtiness 

has  risen  up  in  thy  heart.  Does  it  not  seem  to  thee  i"  be  an  ill  thing 
for  a  righteous  man  to  hav<  an  evil  desire  rise  up  in  his  heart?     It  is 

a 

indeed  a  Bin,  and  that  a  very  great  one,  to  such  a  one  ;  for  a  righteous 
man  thinketh  that  which  is  righteous:  and  whilst  .  and 

walketh  uprightly,  he  shall  have  the  Lord  in  heaven  favourable  nnto 

him  in  all  his  business.  But  as  for  those  who  think  wickedly  in  their 
hearts  they  take  to  themselves  death  and  captivity:  and  especially 

those  who  love  this  present  world,  and  glory  in  their  riches,  and  : 
not  the  good  things  that  are  to  come  ;  their  souls  wander  up  and  down, 
and  know  not  where  to  fix.  Now  this  is  the  case  of  such  as  are 
double-minded,  who  trust  not  in  the  Lord,  and  despise  and  neglect 
their  own  life.  But  do  thou  pray  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  heal  thy 
sins,  and  the  sins  of  thy  whole  house,  and  of  all  his  saints." 

II.  As  soon  as  she  had  spoken  these  words,  the  heavens  wi  re  shut, 
and  I  remained  utterly  swallowed  up  with  sadness  and  fear;  and  said 
within  myself,  If  this  be  laid  against  me  for  sin,  how  can  I  1  e  saved5 
or  how  shall  I  ever  be  able  to  entreat  the  Lord  for  my  many  and 

with  what  words  shall  T  beseech  him  to  be  merciful  unto 
\s  1  was  thinking  over  these  tilings,  and  meditating  in  myself  upon 
diem,  behold  a  chair  was  set  over  against  me  of  the  wl  ol,  as 

bright  as  snow.     And  there  came  an  old  woman  in  a  bright  garment, 
having  a  hook   in   her  hand,  and   sat  alone,  and  saluted   me,  saying, 
"Hermas,  hail!"'      And    T  being  full  of  sorrow,   and   Weeping,    an- 
swered, "Hail,  lady!"      And  she  .siid    unto  me,  "Why  art  the: 
vere  wont  to  he  patient  and  modest,  and   alwi 

ful  r11     I  answered  and  said  to  her,  "  Lady,  a  reproach  has  been  laid 

excellent  woman,  who  tells  me  that  I  have  sinned 

•  •  F  ■  I     ,:  .;.  such  thi'  rrant 

of  God.      Hut  it    in  desire  of  her  has  risen  up   in  thy  heart; 

for  i:  h  a  thought   maketh  the  servants  of  God  guilty  ^^  sin; 

•     •  :   nor 

should  lie  who  is  approved  by  the  Spiril  desire  that  which  is  evil . 

I1  rraas,  who  from  all  wicked  lusts,  and  is 

full  of  all  sin:; 

III.  "Nevertheless  the  Lord  is  not  so  much  angry  with  th< 


d  Invent.  b  Vul.  Hi.  ron.  in  Hosrjm.  vii.  'J. 


HIS  VISIONS.  193 

thine  own  sake,  as  upon  the  account  of  thy  house,  which  has  com- 
mitted wickedness  against  the  Lord,  and  against  their  parents.     And 
for  that,  out  of  thy  fondness  towards  thy  sons,  thou  hast  not  admo- 
nished thy  house,  but  hast  permitted  them  to  live  wickedly :  for  this 
cause  the  Lord  is  angry  with  thee  ;  but  he  will  heal  all  the  evils  that 
are  done  in  thy  house.      For  through  their  sins  and  iniquities,  thou 
art  wholly  consumed  in  secular  affairs.     But  now  the  mercy  of  God 
hath  taken  compassion  upon  thee,  and  upon  thine  house,  and  hath 
greatly"  comforted  thee.     Only  as  for  thee,  do  not  wander;  but  be  of 
an  even  mind,  and  comfort  thy  house.      As  the  workman  bringing 
forth  his  work,  offers  it  to  whomsoever  he  pleases,  so  shalt  thou,  by 
teaching  every  day  what  is  just,  cut  off  a  great  sin.     Wherefore  cease 
not  to  admonish  thy  sons ;  for  the  Lord  knows  that  they  will  repent 
with  all  their  heart,  and  they  shall  be  written  in  the  book  of  life.*' b 
And  when  she  had  said  this,  she  added  unto  me,  "  Wilt  thou  hear 
me  read?"     I  answered,  "  Lady,  I  will."     "Hear  then,"  said  she; 
and  opening  the  book,  she  read  gloriously,  greatly,  and  wonderfully, 
such  things  as  I  could  not  keep  in  my  memory  ;  for  they  were  terrible 
words,  such  as  no  man  could  bear.     Howbeit,  I  committed  her  last 
words  to  my  remembrance ;  for  they  were  but  few,  and  of  great  use 
to  us.     "  Behold  the  mighty  Lord,  who  by  his  invisible  power,  and 
with  his  excellent  wisdom,  made  the  world,  and  by  his  glorious  coun- 
sel beautified  his  creature,  and  with  the  word  of  his  strength  fixed  the 
heaven,  and  founded  the  earth  upon  the  waters,  and  by  his  mighty 
power  established  his  holy  church,  which  he  hath  blessed :  behold,  he 
will  remove  the  heavens,  and  the  mountains,  the  hills,  and  the  seas ; 
and  all  things  shall  be  made  plain  for  his  elect ;  that  he  may  render 
unto  them  the  promise  which  he  has  promised,  with  much  honour  and 
joy  ;  if  so  be  that  they  shall  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  which 
they  have  received  with  great  faith." 

IV.  And  when  she  had  made  an  end  of  reading,  she  rose  out  of  the 
chair ;  and,  behold,  four  young  men  came,  and  carried  the  chair  to 
the  east.  And  she  called  me  unto  her,  and  touched  my  breast,  and 
said  unto  me,  "  Did  my  reading  please  thee?"  I  answered,  "  Lady, 
these  last  things  please  me,  but  what  went  before  was  severe  and 
hard."  She  said  unto  me,  "  These  last  things  are  for  the  righteous,0 
but  the  foregoing  for  the  revolters  and  heathen."  And  as  she  was 
talking  with  me,  two  men  appeared,  and  took  her  up  on  *their 
shoulders,  and  went  to  the  east,  where  the  chair  was.  And  she  went 
cheerfully  away  ;  and  as  she  was  going,  said  unto  me,  "  Hermas,  be 
of  good  cheer." 


°  In  glory.     Ed.  Oxon.     Hath  preserved  thee  in  honor.  *  So  MS.  Lamb. — El  dt- 

scribentur  in  libro  vita.         e  Edit.  Oxon. 

25  R 


194  THE    SHEPHERD   OF    ST.    HERMAS. 


Vision  II. 

Again^  of  his  neglect  in  correcting  hit  talkative  wife;  and  of  his  lewd 

sons." 

I.  As  I  was  on  the  way  to  Cuime,  about  the  same  time  that  I  went 
the  year  before,  I  began  to  call  to  mind  the  vision  I  formerly  had. 
And  again  the  Spirit  carried  me  away,  ami  brought  me  into  the  same 
place  in  which  I  had  been  the  year  before.  And  when  I  was  come 
into  the  place,  I  fell  down  upon  my  knees,  and  began  to  pray  unto  the 
Lord,  and  to  glorify  his  name,  that  he  had  esteemed  me  worthy,  and 
had  manifested  unto  me  my  former  sins.  And  when  I  arose  from 
prayer,  behold  I  saw  over  against  me  the  old  woman  whom  I  had 
seen  the  last  year,  walking  and  reading  in  a  certain  book.  And  she 
said  unto  me,  "  Canst  thou  tell  these  things  to  the  elect  of  God  ?"  I 
answered,  and  said  unto  her,  "  Lady,  I  cannot  retain  so  many  things 
in  my  memory  ;  but  give  me  the  book,  and  I  will  write  them  down.'1 
"  Take  it,"  says  she,  "  and  see  that  thou  restore  it  again  to  me."  As 
soon  as  I  had  received  it,  I  went  aside  into  a  certain  place  of  the  field, 
and  transcribed  every  letter,  for  I  found  no  syllables.  "And  as  soon 
as  I  had  finished  what  was  written  in  the  book,  the  book  was  suddenly 
Caught  out  of  my  hands,  but  by  whom  I  saw  not. 

II.  Alter  fifteen  days,  when  I  had  fasted,  and  entreated  the  Lord 
with  all  earnestness,  the  knowledge  of  the  writing  was  revealed  unto 
me.  Now  the  writing  was  this :  Thy  seed,  0  Hennas !  have  sinned 
against  the  Lord,  and  have  betrayed  their  parents,  through  their  great 
ui<  kedness;  and  they  have  been  called  the  betrayers  of  their  parents, 
and  have  gone  on  in  their  treachery.  And  now  have  they  added 
lewdness  to  their  other  sins,  and  the  pollutions  of  naughtiness  ;  thus 
have  they  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquities.  Hut  do  thou  up- 
braid' thy  son-  with  all  these  words;  and  thy  wife,  which  shall  be  thy 
sister;  and  let  her  learn  to  retrain  her  tongue,  with  which  she  calum- 
niates; for  when  she  shall  hear  these  things,  she  will  refrain  herself, 
Slid  shall  obtain  mercy.     'And  they  also  shall  be  instructed,  when  thou 

■halt  have  reproached  them  with  these  words,  which  the  Lord  has 
commanded  to  be  revealed  unto  thee.  Then  shall  their  sins  be  for- 
given which  they  hare  heretofore  committed,  and  the  sins  of  all  the 

Saintj  who  bave  Mimed  even  unto  this  day,  if  they  shall  repent  with  all 
their  hearts,  and  remove  all  doubts  mil  of  their  hearts.       For  the  Lord 

hath  sworn  b\  his  glory  concerning  bis  elect;  baring  determined  this 

very  time,'  thai  if  any  one  shall  even   now  sin,-'  he   shall   not   be  - 
mFArjus>,  *  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  n.         *  Immnptnk         * 80 one  Ms. in 

< '.'t.lrr.  t<lit.  ()\(»n.      .7  •,,/  >',,.  ,v. .  '  nita  istadii  ctiam  nun 

<^i'/"'  ■— '-a.        /  shall  mm  after  it. 


HIS  VISIONS.  195 

For  the  repentance  of  the  righteous  has  its  end ;  the  days  of  repent- 
ance are  fulfilled  to  all  the  saints,  but  to  the  heathen  there  is  repent- 
ance even  unto  the  last  day.  Thou  shalt,  therefore,  say  to  those  who 
are  over  the  church,  that  they  order  their  ways  in  righteousness,  that 
they  may  fully  receive  the  promise  with  much  glory.  Stand  fast, 
therefore,  ye  that  work  righteousness ;  and  continue  to  do  it,  that  your 
departure  may  be  with  the  holy  angels.  Happy  are  ye,  as  many  as 
shall  endure  the  great  trial  that  is  at  hand,  and  whosoever  shall  not 
deny  his  life.  For  the  Lord  hath  sworn  by  his  Son,  that  whoso  de- 
nieth  his  Son  and  him,  being  afraid  of  his  life,  he  will  also  deny  him 
in  the  world  that  is  to  come.a  But  those  who  shall  never  deny  him, 
he  will,  of  his  exceeding  great  mercy,  be  favourable  unto  them. 

III.  But  thou,  0  Hennas !  remember  not  the  evils b  which  thy  sons 
have  done,  neither  neglect  thy  sister,  but  take  care  that  they  amend 
of  their  former  sins.  For  they  will  be  instructed  by  this  doctrine,  if 
thou  shalt  not  be  mindful  of  what  they  have  done  wickedly.  For  the 
remembrance  of  evils  worketh  death ;  but  the  forgetting  of  them  life 
eternal.  But  thou,  0  Hermas !  hast  undergone  a  great  many  worldly 
troubles  for  the  offences  of  thy  house ;  because  thou  hast  neglected 
them,  as  things  that  did  not  belong  unto  thee,  and  thou  art  wholly  taken 
up  with  thy  great  business.  Nevertheless,  for  this  cause  shalt  thou  be 
saved,  that  thou  hast  not  departed  from  the  living  God :  and  thy  sim- 
plicity and  singular  continency  shall  preserve  thee,  if  thou  shalt  con- 
tinue in  them.  Yea,  they  shall  save  all  such  as  do  such  things,  and 
walk  in  innocence  and  simplicity.  They  who  are  of  this  kind  shall 
prevail  against  all  impiety,  and  continue  unto  life  eternal.  Happy  are 
all  they  that  do  righteousness ;  they  shall  not  be  consumed  for  ever. 
But  thou  wilt  say,  Behold,  there  is  a  great  trial  coming.  If  it  seems 
good  to  thee,  deny  him  again.  The  Lord  is  nigh  to  them  that  turn  to 
him ;  as  it  is  written  in  the  books  of  Heldam  and  Modal,0  who  prophe- 
sied to  the  people  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 

IV.  Moreover,  brethren,  it  was  revealed  to  me,  as  I  was  sleeping, 
by  a  very  goodly  young  man,  saying  unto  me,  «  What  thinkest  thou 
of  that  old  woman  from  whom  thou  receivedst  the  book  ?  Who  is 
she  ?"  I  answered,  «  A  sybil."  "  Thou  art  mistaken,"  said  he,  "  she 
is  not."  I  replied,  "  Who  is  she  then,  Sir?"  He  answered  me,  "  It 
is  the  church  of  God."  And  I  said  unto  him,  "  Why  then  does  she 
appear  old  ?"  «  She  is  therefore,"  said  he,  <<  an  old  woman,  because 
she  was  the  first d  of  all  the  creation,  and  the  world  was  made  for  her." 
After  this  I  saw  a  vision  at  home  in  my  own  house  ;  and  the  old  woman 
whom  I  had  seen  before,  came  to  me,  and  asked  me,  "  Whether  I  had 


°  Days  that  ore  coming.  b  Injuries.  e  Eldad  and  Mcdad.     Numb.  xi.  26,  27. 

d  See  Dr.  Grabe's  Annot.  to  Bishop  Bull's  Def.  Fid.  Nifc  p.  24,  fol.  de  S.  Hermd. 


196  THE   SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

yet  delivered  her"  book  to  the  elders  of  the  church  ?"  And  I  answered, 
"  that  I  had  not  yet."  "  Thou  hast  well  done  ;  for  I  have  certain  words 
more  to  tell  thee.  But  when  I  thai]  have  finished  all  the  words,  they 
shall  be  clearly  understood  by  the  elect.  Wnd  thou  shalt  write  two 
books;  and  send  one  to  Clement,  and  one  to  Grapte.  For  Clement 
shall  send  it  to  the  foreign  cities,  because  it  is  permitted  him  so  to  do; 
but  Grapte  shall  admonish  the  widows  and  orphans.  But  thou  shalt 
read  in  this  city  with  the  elders  of  the  church." 

Vision  III. 

Of  the  building  pf  the  church  triumphant ;  and  of  the  several  sorts  of 

reprobates. 

I.  The  vision  which  I  saw,  brethren,  was  this.  When  I  had 
often  fasted,  and  prayed  unto  the  Lord  that  he  would  manifest  unto 
me  the  revelation  which  he  had  promised  by  the  old  woman  to  show 
unto  me,  the  same  night  she  appeared  unto  me,  and  said  unto  me, 
"  Because  thou  dost  thus  afflict  thyself,  and  art  so  desirous  to  know 
all  things,  come  into  the  field,  where  thou  wrilt ;  and  about  the  sixth 
hour  I  will  appear  unto  thee,  and  show  thee  what  thou  must  see." 
I  asked  her,  saying,  "  Lady,  into  what  part  of  the  field?"  She  an- 
iwered,  "  Wherever  thou  wilt ;  only  choose  a  good  and  a  private 
place."  And  before  I  began  to  speak,  and  to  tell  her  the  place,  she 
said  unto  mo,  "  I  will  come  where  thou  wilt."  I  was  therefore,  bre- 
thren, in  the  field,  and  I  observed  the  hours,  and  came  into  the  place 
where  I  had  appointed  her  to  come.  And  I  beheld  a  bench  placed  ; 
it  was  a  linen  pillow,  and  over  it  spread  a  covering  of  fine  linen. 
When  I  saw  these  things  ordered  in  this  manner,  and  that  there  was 
nobody  in  the  place,  I  began  to  I)*'  astonished,  and  my  hair  stood  on 
end,  and  a  kind  of  horror  seized  me,  for  I  was  alone.  But  being  come 
to  myself,  and  calling  to  mind  the  glorj  of  God,  and  taking  courage,  I 
fell  down  upon  my  knees,  and  !>•  ■  i  to  confi  ss  my  sins  as  before. 

Ami  whilsl  I  was  doing  this,  the  old  •  moan  came  thither  with  the  six 
young  men  whom  I  had  •  en  1  .  n  ,  and  stood  behind  me,  as  I  was 
praying,  and  heard  me  praying  as  I  confessing  my  sins  unto  the  Lord. 
And  touching  me,  she  said,  «  Leave  off  now  to  pray  only  for  thv  sins; 
pray  also  for  righteousness,  that  thou  roayesl  receive  a  part  of  her  into 
\\\\  bouse."  And  sh<  lift  d  me  up  from  the  place,  and  took  me  by 
the  band,  and  brought  me  to  the  seat,  and  said  to  the  young  men, 

"Go,   and    build."      Afl    B00D    as    they  Were    departed,    and    we   were 

alone,  she  said  unto  me,  u  Sit  here."     I  answered  her,  "  Lady,  let 

those  who  are  elder  sit  first. n    She  replied,  ^  Sit  down  as  I  bid  you." 

And  when  I  would  have  sat  on  the  riirht  side,  she  suffered  me  not,  but 

0  Suum  is  adiltNj  |0  tin-  I,:uii!»'th  MS.  *  On^cn.  PhfloCftL  cap.  i. 


HIS   VISIONS.  197 

made  a  sign  to  me  with  her  hand  that  I  should  sit  on  the  left.  As  I 
was  therefore  musing  and  full  of  sorrow,  that  she  would  not  suffer  me 
to  sit  on  the  right  side,  she  said  unto  me,  "  Hennas,  why  art  thou  sad? 
The  place  which  is  on  the  right  hand,  is  theirs  who  have  already  at- 
tained unto  God,  and  have  suffered  for  his  name's  sake.  But  there  is 
yet  a  great  deal  remaining  unto  thee,  before  thou  canst  sit  with  them. 
But  continue,  as  thou  dost,  in  thy  sincerity,  and  thou  shalt  sit  with 
them ;  as  all  others  shall,  that  do  their  works,  and  shall  bear  what  they 
have  borne." 

II.  I  said  unto  her,  "  Lady,  I  would  know  what  it  is  that  they  have 
suffered  ?"  "  Hear  then,"  said  she:  "  Wild  beasts,  scourgings,  impri- 
sonments, and  crosses,  for  his  name's  sake.  For  this  cause,  the  right 
hand  of  holiness  belongs  to  them,  and  to  all  others,  as  many  as  shall 
suffer  for  the  name  of  God  ;  but  the  left  belongs  to  the  rest.  Howbeit,  the 
gifts  and  the  promises  belong  to  both,  to  them  on  the  right,  and  to  those 
on  the  left  hand ;  only  that  sitting  on  the  right  hand,  they  have  some 
glory  above  the  others.  But  thou  art  desirous  to  sit  on  the  right  hand 
with  them;  and  yet  thy  defects"  are  many.  But  thou  shalt  be  purged 
from  thy  defects ;  as  also  all  who  doubt  not  shall  be  cleansed  from  all 
the  sins  which  they  have  committed  unto  this  day."  And  when  she 
had  said  this,  she  would  have  departed ;  wherefore  falling  down  before 
her  feet,  I  began  to  entreat  her,  for  the  Lord's  sake,  that  she  wrould 
show  the  vision  which  she  had  promised.  Then  she  again  took  me  by 
the  hand,  and  lifted  me  up,  and  made  me  sit  upon  the  seat  on  the  left 
side;  and  holding  up  a  certain  bright  wand,  said  unto  me:  "  Seest 
thou  that  great  thing?"  I  replied,  "  Lady,  I  see  nothing."  She  an- 
swered, "  Dost  thou  not  see  over  against  thee  a  great  tower  which  is 
built  upon  the  water,  with  bright  square  stones?"  For  the  tower  was 
built  upon  a  square,  by  those  six  young  men  who  came  with  her.  But 
many  thousands  of  other  men  brought  stone:  some  drew  them  out  of 
the  deep:  others  carried  them  from  the  ground,  and  gave  them  to  the 
six  young  men  ;  and  they  took  them,  and  built.  As  for  those  stones 
which  were  drawn  out  of  the  deep,  they  put  them  all  into  the  building; 
for  they  were  polished,  and  their  squares  exactly  answered  one  another; 
and  so  one  was  joined  in  such  wise  to  the  other,  that  there  was  no 
space  to  be  seen  where  they  joined  ;  insomuch  that  the  whole  tower 
appeared  to  be  built  as  it  were  of  one  stone.  But  as  for  the  other 
stones  that  were  taken  off  from  the  ground,  some  of  them  they  rejected, 
others  they  fitted  into  the  building.  As  for  those  which  were  rejected, 
some  they  cut  out,  and  cast  them  at  a  distance  from  the  tower ;  but 
many  others  of  them  lay  round  about  the  tower,  which  they  made  no 
use  of  in  the  building:  for  some  of  these  were  rough,  others  had  clefts 


a  Lat. — Exiguitates. 

r2 


198  THE  SHEPHERD  OF  ST.  HERMA8. 

in  tfaem,  others  were  white  and  round,  and  not  proper  for  the  building 
of  the  tower.  But  I  saw  the  other  stones  cast  afar  off  from  the  tower, 
and  falling  into  the  highway,  and  yet  not  continuing  in  the  way,  but 
were  rolled  from  the  way  into  a  desert  place.  Others  I  saw  falling  into 
the  fire,  and  burning;  others  fell  Dear  the  water,  yet  could  not  roll 
themselves  into  it,  though  very  desirous  to  fall  into  the  water. 

III.  And  when  she  had  showed  me  these  things,  she  would  have 
departed.  Hut  I  said  unto  her,  "Lady,  what  does  it  profit  me  I 
these  things,  and  not  understand  what  they  mean  ?"  She  answered 
and  said  unto  me,  ''You  are  very  cunning,  in  that  you  are  desirous  to 
know  those  things  which  relate  to  the  tower.""  "  Yea,"  said  I,  "  lady, 
that  I  may  declare  them  unto  the  brethren  ;  and  they  may  rejoice,  and 
hearing  these  things,  may  glorify  God  with  great  glory."  Then  she 
said,  «  Many  indeed  shall  hear  them  ;  and  when  they  shall  have  heard 
them,  some  shall  rejoice,  and  others  weep.  And  yet  even  these,  it 
they  shall  repent,  shall  rejoice  too.  Hear,  therefore,  what  I  shall  say 
concerning  the  parable  of  the  tower;  and  after  this,  be  no  longer  im- 
portunate with  me  about  the  revelation.  For  these  revelations  have  a;. 
end,  seeing  they  are  fulfilled  ;  but  thou  dost  not  leave  off  to  desire 
revelations,  for  thou   art  very  urgent."     As  for  the  tower  which  thou 

built,  it  is  I  myself,  namely,  the  church,  which  have  appeared  to 
thee  both  now  and  heretofore  ;  wherefore  ask  what  thou  wilt  concerning 
the  tower,  and  I  will  reveal  it  unto  thee,  that  thou  mayest  rejoice  with 
the  saints."      I  said  unto  her,  "  Lady,  because  thou  hast  thought 
once  worthy  to  receive  from  thee  the  revelation  of  all  these  tilings,  de- 
clare them  unto  me."      She  answered  me,   "  Whatsoever  is  fit  to  be 
revealed  unto  thee,  shall  be  revealed;  r  only  let  thy  heart  be  with  the 
Lord,  and  doubt  not,  whatsoever  thou  shalt  see."     I  asked  her, ii  Lady, 
wh)  is  the  tower  built  upon  the  water  ?"d     She  replied,  "  I  said  i 
to  thee  that  thou  writ  \ery  wise,  to   inquire  diligently  concerning  the 
building,  therefore  thou  shalt  find  the  truth.      Hear,  therefore,  why  the 
tower  is  built  upon  the  water  : — because  your  life  is  and  shall  he  I 
\>\  water:    for  it'  is  founded  by  the  word  of  the  Almighty  and  11  >nour- 
able  Name,  and  is  supported  by  the  invisible  power  and  virtue  of 
God." 

IV.  And  I  answering  Said  un!o  her,   "These  things  are  very  admi- 
rable;  but,  lady,  who  BR  those  m\  young  mm  that  build?"      "The) 

said  .she,    ^  the  BAgels   of  God,  which  were  fust   appointed,  am; 

t<>  whom  die  Lord  has  delivered  all  his  creatures  to  frame  and  build 
them  up,  and  to  rule  over  them  ;  tor  by  these  the  building  of  the  * 

shall  be  finished.'1      ''And  who  are  the  rest,  who  bring  them 


■  Jr.   nbotd.  b  Kdit.  <)\(,n  ■  Cl.m.  Al.\.  Str.wn.  xii.  d  Baptism 

N.uiiflv,  tin-  t.>\N.r 


HIS   VISIONS.  199 

«  They  also  are  the  holy  angels  of  the  Lord ;  but  the  other  are  more 
excellent  than  these.  Wherefore,  when  the  whole  building  of  the 
tower  shall  be  finished,  they  shall  all  feast  together  beside  the  tower, 
and  shall  glorify  God,  because  the  structure  of  the  tower  is  finished.,, 
I  asked  her,  saying,  "  I  would  know  the  condition  of  the  stones,  and 
the  meaning  of  them,  what  it  is  ?"  She  answering  said  unto  me, 
"  Art  thou  better  than  all  others,  that  this  should  be  revealed  unto  thee  ? 
for  others  are  both  before  thee,  and  better  than  thou  art,  to  whom  these 
visions  should  be  made  manifest ;  nevertheless,  that  the  name  of  God 
may  be  glorified,  it  has  been,  and  shall  be  revealed  unto  thee,  for  the 
sake  of  those  who  are  doubtful,  and  think  in  their  hearts  whether  these 
things  are  so  or  not.  Tell  them  that  all  these  things  are  true ;  and  that 
there  is  nothing  in  them  that  is  not  true ;  but  all  are  firm,  and  truly 
established. 

V.  "  Hear  now  then  concerning  the  stones  that  are  in  the  building. 
The  square  and  white  stones,  which  agree  exactly  in  their  joints,  are 
the  apostles,  and  bishops,  and  doctors,  and  ministers,  who  through  the 
mercy  of  God  have  come  in,  and  governed,  and  taught,  and  ministered 
holily  and  modestly  to  the  elect  of  God,  both  that  are  fallen  asleep  and 
which  yet  remain ;  and  have  always  agreed  with  them,  and  have  had 
peace  within  themselves,  and  have  heard  each  other.  For  which  cause 
their  joints  exactly  meet  together  in  the  building  of  the  tower.  They 
which  are  drawn  out  of  the  deep  and  put  into  the  building,  and  whose 
joints  agree  with  the  other  stones  which  are  already  built,  are  those 
which  are  already  fallen  asleep,  and  have  suffered  for  the  sake  of  the 
Lord's  name."  "And  what  are  the  other  stones,  lady,  that  are 
brought  from  the  earth  ?  I  would  know  what  they  are."  She  answered, 
"  They  which  lie  upon  the  ground,  and  are  not  polished,  are  those 
which  God  has  approved,  because  they  have  walked  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord,"  and  directed  their  ways  in  his  commandments.  They  which 
are  brought  and  put  in  the  building  of  the  tower,  are  the  young  in 
faith,  and  the  faithful :  and  these  are  admonished  by  the  angels  to  do 
well,  because  that  iniquity  is  not  found  in  them."  «  But  who  are 
those  whom  they  rejected,  and  laid  beside  the  tower?"  "They  are 
such  as  have  sinned,  and  are  willing  to  repent;  for  which  cause  they 
are  not  cast  far  from  the  tower,  because  they  will  be  useful  for  the 
building  if  they  shall  repent.  They,  therefore,  that  are  yet  to  repent, 
if  they  shall  repent,  shall  become  strong  in  the  faith ;  that  is,  if  they 
repent  now,  whilst  the  tower  is  building.  For  if  the  building  shall  be 
finished,  there  will  then  be  no  place  for  them  to  be  put  in,  but  they 
shall  be  rejected :  for  he,  only,  has  this  privilege  who  shall  now  be  put 
into  the  tower. 


J  In  (pquitatcm  Domini. — Lat. 


1200  THE    BHEPHBRD   OF    ST.   HERMA8. 

VI.  "  But  would  ynu  know  who  (hey  are  thai  were  cut  out,  and  cast 
afar  off  from  the  tower?"  "  Lady,"  said  I,  « I  desire  it."-  "  They  are 
the  children  of  iniquity,  wbo  beliered  only  in  bypocris^  hut  departed 
not  from  their  evil  ways;  !  i  thia  ca  ise  they  shall  not  he  saved,  b« . 
they  are  not  of  any  use  in  the  building,  by  reason  of  their  sins:  where- 
fore they  are  cut  out,  and  cast  afar  off,  !  f  the  SBgef  of  the 
Lord,  and  because  thej  bave  provoked  him  to  anger  against  them. 
As  for  the  great  number  of  other  stones  which  thou  hast  seen  placed 
about  the  tower,  but  not  put  into  the  building;  those  which  are  rugged 
are  they  who  have  known  the  truth,  but  have  not  continued  in  it,  nor 
been  joined  to  the  saints,  and  then-fore  are  unprofitable.  Those  that 
have  clefa  in  them,  are  they  who  keep  up  discord  in  their  hearts 
against  each  other,  and  live  not  in  peace:  that  are  friendly  when  pre- 
sent with  their  brethren,  but,  as  soon  as  they  are  departed  from  one 
another,  their  wickedness  still  continues  in  their  hearts:  these  are  the 
clefts  which  are  seen  in  those  stones.  Those  that  are  maimed  and 
short,  are  they  who  have  believed,  indeed,  but  still  are  in  great  mea- 
sure full  of  wickedness;  for  this  cause  are  they  maimed,  and  not 
whole."  "But  what  are  the  white  and  round  stones,  lady,  and  which 
are  not  proper  for  the  building  of  the  tower3"  She  answering, 
unto  me,  "How  long  wilt  thou  continue  foolish,  and  without  under- 
standing: asking  every  thing  and  discerning  nothing?  They  are  such 
as  have  faith,  indeed,  hut  have  withal  the  riches  of  this  present  world. 
When  therefore  any  troubles  arise,"  for  the  sake  of  their  riches  and 
traffic  they  deny  the  Lord."  I  answering  said  unto  her,  "When 
therefore  will  they  be  profitable  to  the  Lord  ?"  "  When  their  riches 
shall  be  cut  away,"  says  she,  "  in  which  they  take  delight,  then  they 
will  be  profitable  unto  the  Lord  for  his  building:  for,  as  a  round  stone, 
unless  it  be  cut  away,  and  cast  somewhat  off  of  its  bulk,  cannot  be 
made  square  ;  so  they  who  are  rich  in  this  world,  unless  their  riches 
be  pared  oil',  cannot  be  made  profitable  unto  the  Lord.  Learn  this 
from  thy  own  experience  :  when  thou  wert  rich,  thou  wast  unprofitable, 
but  now  thou  art  profitable,  and  fit  for  the  life  which  thou  hast  under- 
taken ;  for  thou  also  once  wast  one  of  those  stones. 

\  If.  *<  As  lor  the  rest  of  the  stones  which  thou  sawest  cast  afar  off 
from  the  tower,  and  running  in  the  way,  and  tumbled    out    of  the  wav 

into  desert  places,  they  are  such  as  bave  believedj  indeed,  but  through 

their  doubting  have   forsaken    the   true  way,  thinking  that   they  could 

find  a  better.  But  they  wander,  and  are  miserable,  going  into  deso- 
late ways.  Then  for  those  stoic  s  which  fell  into  the  tire,  and  were 
burnt;    they  are    thoSC  WOO    ha\e    for    ever'    departed    from    the    tiring 

God  ;    not  doth  it  ever  conic  int..  their  hearts   to   repent,  by  reSSOO    "| 


0  Yid.  cd.  Oxon.  »  Trilulalwn  anus.  c  Finally. 


HIS  VISIONS.  201 

the  affection  which  they  bear  to  their  lusts  and  wickednesses  which 
they  commit."  "And  what  are  the  rest,  which  fell  by  the  water,  and 
could  not  roll  into  the  water  ?"  "  They  are  such  as  have  heard  the 
word,  and  were  willing  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  but, 
considering  the  great  holiness  which  the  truth  requires,  have  withdrawn 
themselves,  and  walked  again  after  their  wicked  lusts."  Thus  she 
finished  the  explication  of  the  tower.  But  I  being  still  urgent,  asked 
her,  "  Is  there  repentance  allowed  to  all  those  stones  which  are  thus 
cast  away,  and  were  not  suitable  to  the  building  of  the  tower ;  and 
shall  they  find  place  in  this  towrer?"  "They  may  repent,"  said  she, 
"  but  they  cannot  come  into  this  tower ;  but  they  shall  be  placed  in  a 
much  lower  rank,  and  this  after  that  they  shall  have  been  afflicted,  and 
fulfilled  the  days  of  their  sins.  And  for  this  cause  they  shall  be  re- 
moved, because  they  have  received  the  word  of  righteousness  :  and 
then  they  shall  be  translated  from  their  afflictions,  if  they  shall  have  a 
true  sense  in  their  hearts  of  what  they  have  done  amiss.  But  if  they 
shall  not  have  this  sense  in  their  hearts,  they  shall  not  be  saved,  by 
reason  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts." 

VIII.  When,  therefore,  I  had  done  asking  her  concerning  all  these 
things,  she  said  unto  me,  "  Wilt  thou  see  somewhat  else  ?"  And  being 
desirous  of  seeing  it,  I  became  very  cheerful  of  countenance.  She, 
therefore,  looking  back  upon  me,  and  smiling  a  little,  said  unto  me, 
"Seest  thou  seven  women  about  the  tower?"  "Lady,"  said  I,  "I 
see  them."  "This  tower,"  replied  she,  "is  supported  by  them, 
according  to  the  command  of  the  Lord :  hear,  therefore,  the  effects  of 
them.  The  first  of  them,  which  holds  fast  with  her  hand,  is  called 
Faith :  by  her  the  elect  shall  be  saved.  The  next,  which  is  girt  up, 
and  looks  manly,  is  named  Abstinence :  she  is  the  daughter  of  Faith. 
Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  follow  her,  shall  be  happy  in  all  his  life : 
because  he  shall  abstain  from  all  evil  works,  believing,  that  if  he  shall 
contain  himself  from  all  concupiscence,  he  shall  be.  the  heir  of  eternal 
life."  "  And  what,  lady,"  said  I,  "  are  the  other  five  ?"  "  They 
are,"  replied  she,  "  the  daughters  of  one  another.  The  first  of  them 
is  called  Simplicity ;  the  next  Innocence  ;  the  third  Modesty ;  then 
Discipline ;  and  the  last  of  all  is  Charity.  When,  therefore,  thou 
shalt  have  fulfilled  the  works  of  their  mother,  thou  shalt  be  able  to  do 
all  things."  "  Lady,"  said  I,  "  I  would  know  what  particular  virtue 
every  one  of  these  has."  "  Hear  then,"  replied  she  ;  "  they  have 
equal  virtues,  and  their  virtues  are  knit  together,  and  follow  one 
another  as  they  were  born.  From  Faith  proceeds  Abstinence  ;  from 
Abstinence,  Simplicity  ;  from  Simplicity,  Innocence  ;  from  Innocence, 
Modesty ;  from  Modesty,  Discipline  and  Charity.  Therefore  the 
works  of  these  are  holy,  and  chaste,  and  right.  Whosoever,  therefore, 
shall  serve  these,  and  hold  fast  to  their  works,  he  shall  have  his  dwell- 
26 


202  THE   SHEPHERD    OF   ST.    HERMAS. 

ing  in  the  tower  with  the  saints  of  Clod."  Then  I  asked  her  con- 
cerning  the  times,  whether  the  end  were  now  at  hand?  But  she  cried 
out  with  aloud  voice,  Baying,  u<>  foolish  man!  Dost  thou  not  see 
the  tower  yet  a  building?     When,  therefore,  the  tower  .shall  be  finished 

and  built,  it  shall  have  an  end  ;  and  indeed  it  shall  soon  be  accom- 
plished. But  do  not  ask  me  any  more  questions  :  what  has  been  said 
may  Buffice  thee  and  all  the  saints,  for  the  refreshment  of  your  spirits. 
For  these  things  have  not  been  revealed  to  thee  only,  but  that  thou 
mayest  make  them  manifest  unto  all.  For  therefore,  0  Hennas,  after 
three  days  thou  mayest  understand  these  words  which  I  begin  to  speak 
unto  thee,  that  thou  mayest  speak  them  in  the  ears  of  the  saints  ;  that 
when  they  shall  have  heard  and  done  them,  they  may  be  cleansed  from 
their  iniquities,  and  thou  together  with  them. 

IX.  »  Hear  me,  therefore,  0  my  sons  !  I  have  bred  you  up  in  much 
simplicity,  and  innocency,  and  modesty,  for  the  mercy  of  God,  which 
has  dropped  down  upon  you  in  righteousness  ;  that  you  should  be  sanc- 
tified, and  justified  from  all  sin  and  wickedness:  but  ye  will  not  cease 
from  your  evil  doings.  Now,  therefore,  hearken  unto  me,  and  have 
one  with  another,  and  visit  one  another,  and  receive  one  another, 
and  do  not  enjoy  the  creatures  of  God  alone.  Give  freely  to  them 
that  are  in  need.  For  some  by  too  free  feeding  contract  an  infirmity 
in  their  flesh,  and  do  injury  to  their  bodies  :  whilst  the  flesh  of  others, 
who  have  not  food,  withers  aw. iv,  because  they  want  sufficient  nourish- 
ment, and  their  bodies  are  consumed.  Wherefore  this  intemperance 
is  hurtful  to  you,  who  have,  and  do  not  communicate  to  them  that 
want.  Prepare  for  the  judgment  that  is  about  to  come  upon  you.  Ye 
that  are  the  more  eminent,  search  out  them  that  are  hungry,  whilst  the 
tower  is  yet  unfinished.  For  when  the  tower  shall  be  finished,  ye 
shall  he  willing  to  do  good,  and  shall  not  find  any  place  in  it.  Beware 
therefore,  ye  that  glory  in  your  riches,  lest  perhaps  they  groan  who  are 
in  want,  and  their  sighing  come  up  unto  God,  and  ye  be  shut  out  with 
your  goods  without  the  gate  of  the  tower.  Behold  I  now  warn  you 
who  air  set  over  the  church,  and  love  the  highest  scats:  be  not  ye  like 
unto  those1  that  work  mischief.  And  they  indeed  carry  about  their 
poison  in  boxes  ;  hut  ye  contain  your  poison  and  infection'  in  your 
hearts;  and  will  not  purge  them,  and  mix  your  sense  with  a  pure  heart, 
thai  \<  may  find  mercy  with  the  Great  King.  Take  heed,  my  children, 
that  your  dissensions  deprive  you  not  of  your  Uvea.  How  will  ye 
instruct  the  elect  <>f  ( tod,  when  ye  yourselves  want  correction  ?  Where- 
fore admonish  one  another,  and  be  at  peace  among  yourselves,  that  I, 

standing   I  ur   father,    may  give  an   account  tor    you   unto  tin- 

Lord." 


0  r<vsunrr*.  *  Mediar 


HIS  VISIONS.  203 

X.  And  when  she  made  an  end  of  talking  with  me,  the  six  young 
men  that  built,  came  and  carried  her  to  the  tower ;  and  four  others 
took  up  the  seat  on  which  she  sat,  and  they  also  went  away  again  to 
the  tower.  I  saw  not  the  faces  of  these,  for  their  backs  were  towards 
me.  As  she  was  going  away,  I  asked  her,  "  that  she  would  reveal  to 
me  what  concerned  the  three  forms,  in  which  she  had  appeared  unto 
me."  But  she  answering,  said  unto  me,  «  Concerning  these  things 
thou  must  ask  some  other,  that  they  may  be  revealed  unto  thee." 
Now,  brethren,  in  the  first  vision  the  last  year,  she  appeared  unto  me 
exceedingly  old,  and  sitting  in  a  chair.  In  another  vision,  she  had 
indeed  a  youthful  face,  but  her  flesh  and  hair  were  old  ;  and  she  talked 
with  me  standing,  and  was  more  cheerful  than  the  first  time.  In  the 
third  vision,  she  was  in  all  respects  much  younger,  and  comely  to  the 
eye  ;  only  she  had  the  hair  of  an  aged  person ;  yet  she  looked  cheerful, 
and  sat  upon  a  seat.  I  was,  therefore,  very  sad  concerning  these 
things,  until  I  might  understand  the  vision.  Wherefore  I  saw  the  same 
old  woman,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,  saying  unto  me,  "  All  prayer 
needeth  humiliation.  Fast  therefore,  and  thou  shalt  learn  fromHhe 
Lord  that  which  thou  dost  ask."  I  fasted,  therefore,  one  day.  The 
same  night  a  young  man  appeared  to  me  and  said,  "  Why  dost  thou 
thus  often  desire  revelations  in  thy  prayers  ?  Take  heed  that,  by  asking 
many  things,  thou  hurt  not  thy  body.  Let  these  revelations  suffice 
thee.  Canst  thou  see  more  notable  revelations  than  those  which  thou 
hast  already  received  ?"  I  answered  and  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  I  only 
ask  this  one  thing  upon  the  account  of  the  three  figures  of  the  old 
woman  that  appeared  to  me,  that  the  revelation  may  be  complete." 
He  answered  me,  "You  are  not  without  understanding,  but  your 
doubts  make  you  so ;  forasmuch  as  you  have  not  your  heart  with  the 
Lord."  I  replied  and  said,  "But  we  shall  learn  these  things  more 
carefully  from  you." 

XI.  "Hear  then,"  says  he,  "concerning  the  figures  about  which 
you  inquire.  And  first,  in  the  first  vision  she  appeared  to  thee  in  the 
shape  of  an  old  woman  sitting  in  a  chair ;  because  your  old  spirit  was 
decayed,  and  without  strength,  by  reason  of  your  infirmities,  and  the 
doubtfulness  of  your  heart.  For  as  they  who  are  old  have  no  hope  of 
renewing  themselves,  nor  expect  any  thing  but  their  departure ;  so 
you,  being  weakened  through  your  worldly  affairs,  gave  yourself  up  to 
sloth,  and  cast  not  away  your  solicitude  from  yourself  upon  the  Lord ; 
and  your  sense  was  confused,"  and  you  grew  old  in  your  sadness." 
"  But,  Sir,  I  would  know  why  she  sat  upon  a  chair?"  He  answered, 
"Because  every  one  that  is  weak  sitteth  upon  a  chair,  by  reason  of 
his  infirmity,  that  his  weakness  may  be  upheld:  behold,  therefore,  the 
figure  of  the  first  vision. 

<*  Broken,  Contusus. 


204  THE    SIIKPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

\fl.  "In  the  second  vision  you  saw  her  standing,  and  having  a 
youthful  face,  and  more  cheerful  than  ber  former;  but  her  flesh  and 
her  hair  were  ancient.  «  Hear,'1  said  he,  "  this  parable  also.  When 
an\  one   grows  old,  he   despairs  of  himself  by  reason   of  his  infirmity 

and  poverty,  and  expects  nothing  but  the  last  day  of  his  life.    But  on 

a  Midden  an  inheritance  is  left  to  him,  and  he  hears  of  it,  and  rises; 
and  being  become  cheerful,  he  puts  on  new  strength.  And  now  he 
nn  longer  Bits  down,  but  stands;  and  is  delivered  from  his  former  sor- 
row ;  and  sits  not,  but  acts  manfully.  So  you,  having  heard  the  revela- 
tion which  God  revealed  unto  you — because  God  had  compassion  upon 
you,  and  rent  wed  your  spirit — both  laid  aside  your  infirmities,  and 
Strength  came  to  you,  and  you  grew  strong  in  the  faith;  and  God, 
seeing  your  strength,  rejoiced.  For  this  cause  he  showed  you  the 
building  of  the  tower;  and  will  show  other  things  unto  you,  if  ye  shall 
have  peace  with  all  your  heart  among  each  other. 

XIII.  "  But  in  the  third  vision  you  saw  her  yet  younger;  fair"  and 
cheerful,  and  of  a  serene  countenance.  For  as,  if  some  good  news 
comes  to  one  that  is  sad,  he  straightway  forgets  his  sadness,  and 
regards  nothing  else  but  the  good  news  which  he  has  heard,  and  for 
the  rest  he  is  comforted,  and  his  spirit  is  renewed  through  the  joy 
which  he  has  received,  even  so  you  have  been  refreshed  in  your  spirit, 
b\  seeing  these  good  things.  And  for  that  you  saw  her  sitting  upon 
a  bench,  it  denotes  a  strong  position;  because  a  bench  has  four  feet, 
and  stands  strongly.  And  even  the  world  itself  is  upheld  by  the  four 
elements.  They  therefore  that  repent  perfectly,  shall  be  young;  and 
they  thai  turn  from  their  sins  with  their  whole  heart,  shall  be  esta- 
blished. And  now  you  have  the  revelation  fully ;  ask  no  more  to  have 
any  thing  farther  revealed  unto  you.  But  if  any  thing  be  to  be  re- 
vealed,  it  shall  be  made  manifest  unto  you." 

Vision  IV. 
Of  tin1  trial  and  tribulation  that  is  about  to  come  upon  num. 
I.  I  saw  a  vision,  brethren,  twenty  days  after  the  former  vision  ;  a 
representation  of  the  tribulation  that  is  at  hand.  I  was  walking  in  the 
field  way:1  (now  from  the  public  way  to  the  manor  whither  I  went  is 
about  ten  furlongs:  it  is  a  way  very  little  frequented:)  and  as  I  was 
walking  alone,  I  entreated  the  Lord  that  he  would  confirm  the  revela- 
tion  which  he  had  showed  unto  me  bj  his  holy  church;  and  would 
grant  repentance  to  all  his  servants  who  had  offended,  that  his  great 

and  honourable  name  might  be  glorified  ;  and  because  he  thought  me 
worthy  to  whom  he  might  show  his  wonders  J  and  that  I  might 
honour  him,  and  give  thanks   unto  him.      And,  behold,  somewhat  like 

a  Honcstam.  '  Cnvipaipi  tray.  e  That  he  tcould  shotv  I 


HIS   VISIONS.  205 

a  voice  answered  me,  "  Doubt  not,  Hennas."  Wherefore,  I  began 
to  think,  and  say  within  myself,  "  Why  should  I  doubt,  seeing  I  am 
thus  settled  by  the  Lord,  and  have  seen  such  glorious  things  ?"  I  had 
gone  but  a  little  farther,  brethren,  when,  behold,  I  saw  a  dust  rise  up 
to  heaven.  I  began  to  say  within  myself,  "  Is  there  a  drove  of  cattle 
coming,  that  raises  such  a  dust?"  It  was  about  a  furlong  off  from 
me ;  and,  behold,  I  saw  the  dust  rise  more  and  more,  insomuch  that  I 
began  to  suspect  that  there  was  somewhat  extraordinary0  in  it.  And 
the  sun  shone  a  little ;  and,  behold,  I  saw  a  great  beast,  as  it  were  a 
whale  ;  and  fiery  locusts  came  out  of  his  mouth.  The  height  of  the 
beast  was  about  a  hundred  feet ;  and  he  had  a  head  like  a  large  earthen 
vessel."  I  began  to  weep,  and  to  pray  unto  the  Lord  that  he  would 
deliver  me  from  it.  Then  I  called  to  mind  the  word  which  I  had 
heard,  « Doubt  not,  Hermas."  Wherefore,  brethren,  putting  on  a 
divine  faith,  and  remembering  who  it  was  that  had  taught  me  great 
things,  I  delivered  myself  boldly  unto  the  beast.  Now  the  beast  came 
on  in  such  a  manner  as  if  it  could  at  oncec  have  devoured  a  city.  I 
came  near  unto  it ;  and  the  beast  extended  its  whole  bulk  upon  the 
ground;  and  put  forth  nothing  but  its  tongue,  nor  once  moved  itself, 
till  I  had  quite  passed  by  it.  Now  the  beast  had  upon  its  head  four 
colours,  first  black,  then  a  red  and  bloody  colour,  then  a  golden,  and 
then  a  white. 

II.  After  that  I  had  passed  by  it,  and  was  gone  forward  about  thirty 
feet,  behold,  there  met  me  a  certain  virgin,  well  adorned,  as  if  she  had 
been  just  come  out  of  her  bride-chamber;  all  in  white,  having  on  white 
shoes,  and  a  veil  down  her  face,  and  covered  with  shining  hair.  Now 
I  knew  by  my  former  visions  that  it  was  the  church,  and  thereupon 
grew  the  more  cheerful.  She  saluted  me,  saying,  "  Hail,  0  man  !"  I 
returned  the  salutation,  saying,  "  Lady,  hail!"  She,  answering,  said 
unto  me,  "  Did  nothing  meet  you,  0  man  ?"  I  replied,  "  Lady,  there 
met  me  such  a  beast  as  seemed  able  to  devour  a  whole  people :  but  by 
the  power  of  God,  and  through  his  singular  mercy,  I  escaped  it." 
"Thou  didst  escape  it  well,"  said  she,  "  because  thou  didst  cast  thy 
whole  care  upon  God,  and  openedst  thy  heart  unto  him,  believing  that 
thou  couldst  be  safe  by  no  other  than  by  his  great  and  honourable 
name.  For  this  cause  the  Lord  sent  his  angel  who  is  over  the  beasts, 
whose  name  is  Hegrin,  and  stopped  his  mouth,  that  he  should  not 
devour  thee.  Thou  hast  escaped  a  great  trial  through  thy  faith,  and 
because  thou  didst  not  doubt  for  such  a  terrible  beast.  Go,  therefore, 
and  relate  to  the  elect  of  God  the  great  things  that  he  hath  done  for 
thee.  And  thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  that  this  beast  is  the  figure  of  the 
trial  that  is  about  to  come.     If,  therefore,  ye  shall  have  prepared  your- 

•  Aliquid  divinitus.  *  Vas  urnale.  e  In  ictu. 

s 


206  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

wires,  ye  may  escape  it,  if  your  heart  be  pure  and  without  spot ;  and 
if  ye  shall  serve  God  all  the  rest  of  your  days  without  complaint.  Cast 
all  your  cares  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  will  direct  them.  Believe  in 
God,  ye  doubtful,  because  he  can  do  all  things;  he  can  both  turn 
away  his  wrath  from  you,  and  send  you  help  and  security.  Woe  to 
the  doubtful,  to  those  who  .shall  hear  these  word-,  and  shall  despite 
them:   it  had  been  better  for  them  that  they  had  not  been  born." 

in.  Then  I  asked  ber  roncerning  the  four  colours  which  the  I 
had  upon  its  head.  Hut  she  answered  me,  saying,  "Again  thou  art 
curious  in  that  thou  askest  concerning  these  things."  And  I  said  unto 
her,  "Lady,  show  me  what  they  are."  "Hear,"  said  she,  "the 
black  which  thou  sawest  denotes  the  world  in  which  you  dwell.  The 
fiery  and  bloody  colour  signifies  that  this  age  must  be  destroyed  by 
lire  and  blood.  The  golden  part  are  ye  who  have  escaped  out  of  it; 
tor  as  gold  is  tried  by  the  fire,  and  is  made  profitable,  so  are  ye  also 
in  like  manner  tried  who  dwell  among  the  men  of  this  world.  They, 
therefore,  that  shall  endure  to  the  end,  and  be  proved  by  them,  shall 
be  purged.  And  as  gold,  by  this  trial,  is  cleansed  and  loses  its  dross; 
so  shall  ye  also  cast  away  all  sorrow  and  trouble,  and  be  made  pure 
for  the  building  of  the  tower.  But  the  white  colour  denotes  the  time 
of  the  world  which  is  to  come,  in  which  the  elect  of  God  shall  dwell : 
because  the  elect  of  God  shall  be  pure  and  without  spot  unto  life 
eternal.  Wherefore  do  not  thou  cease  to  speak  these  things  in  the 
ears  of  the  saints.  Here  ye  have  the  figure  of  the  great  tribulation 
that  is  about  to  come  ;  which,  if  you  please,  shall  be  nothing  to  you. 
Keep  therefore  in  mind  the  things  which  I  have  said  unto  you." 
When  she  had  spoken  thus  much  she  departed ;  but  I  saw  not  whither 
she  went.  But  suddenly  I  heard  a  noise,  and  I  turned  back,  being 
afraid  ;  for  I  thought  that  the  beast  was  coming  towards  me. 


THE 

SECOND  BOOK  OF  ST.  HERMAS, 


WHICH    IS    CALLED 


HIS  COMMANDS. 


The  Introduction. 

When  I  had  prayed  at  home,  and  was  sat  down  upon  the  bed,  a 
certain  man  came  in  to  me,  with  a  reverend  look,  in  the  habit  of  a 
shepherd,  clothed  with  a  white  cloak,  having  his  bag  upon  his  back, 
and  his  staff  in  his  hand,  and  saluted  me.  I  returned  his  salutation  ; 
and  immediately  he  sat  down  by  me,  and  said  unto  me :  "I  am  sent 
by  that  venerable  messenger,  that  I  should  dwell  with  thee  all  the  re- 
maining days  of  thy  life."  But  I  thought  he  was  come  to  try  me,  and 
said  unto  him,  "  Who  are  you  ?  for  I  know  to  whom  I  am  committed." 
He  said  unto  me,  "Do  you  not  know  me?"  I  answered,  "No." 
"I  am,"  said  he,  "that  shepherd  to  whose  care  you  are  delivered." 
Whilst  he  was  yet  speaking,  his  shape'was  changed  ;  and  when  I  knew 
that  it  was  he  to  whom  I  was  committed,  I  was  ashamed,  and  a  sudden 
fear  came  upon  me,  and  I  was  utterly  overcome  with  sadness,  because 
I  had  spoken  so  foolishly  unto  him.  But  he  said  unto  me,  "  Be  not 
ashamed,  but  receive  strength  in  thy  mind,  through  the  commands 
which  I  am  about  to  deliver  unto  thee.  For,"  said  he,  "  I  am  sent 
to  show  unto  thee  all  those  things  again  which  thou  hast  seen  before  ; 
but  specially  such  of  them  as  may  be  of  most  use  unto  thee.  And 
first  of  all,  write  my  commands  and  similitudes;  the  rest  thou  shalt  so 
write  as  I  shall  show  unto  thee.  But  I  therefore  bid  thee,  first  of  all, 
write  my  commands  and  similitudes,  that  by  often  reading  of  them  thou 
mayest  the  more  easily  keep  them  in  memory." a  Whereupon  I  wrote 
his  commands  and  similitudes,  as  he  bade  me ;  which  things,  if  when 
ye  have  heard,  ye  shall  observe  to  do  them,  and  shall  walk  according 
to  them,  and  exercise  yourselves  in  them,  with  a  pure  mind,  ye  shall 
receive  from  the  Lord  those  things  which  he  has  promised  unto  you. 
But  if,  having  heard  them,  ye  shall  not  repent,  but  shall  still  go  on  to 
add  to  your  sins,  ye  shall  be  punished6  by  him.  All  these  things  that 
shepherd,  the  angel  of  repentance,  commanded  me  to  write. 


a  Observe  them.     Custodire  possis. — Lat.  b  Ad  versa  rccipictis. 

i!07 


208  THE    SHEPHERD    OF   ST.   HERMAS. 

The  First  Command. 

Of  believing'  in  one  God. 

«  First  of  all,  In  lit  v.-  that  there  is  one  God,  who  created  and 
framed  all  things  of  nothing  into  a  being.  He  comprehends  all  things, 
and  is  only  immense,  not  to  be  comprehended  by  any ;  -who  can  neither 
be  defined  by  any  words,  nor  conceived  by  the  mind.  Therefore  be- 
lieve him,  and  fear  him  ;  and  fearing  him  abstain"  from  all  evil.  Keep 
these  things,  and  cast  all  lust  and  iniquity0  far  from  thee  ;  and  put  on 
righteousness  ;  and  thou  shalt  live  to  God,  if  thou  shalt  keep  this  com- 
mandment." 

The  Second  Command. 

That  ice  must  avoid  detraction,  and  do  our  almsdeeds  with  simplicity. 

He  said  unto  me,  "Be  innocent  and  without  disguise  ;d  so  shalt 
thou  be  like  an  infant  who  knows  no  malice,  which  destroys  the  life 
of  man.  Especially  see  that  thou  speak  evil  of  none ;  nor  willingly 
hear  any  one  speak  evil  of  any.  'For  if  thou  observest  not  this,  thou 
also  who  nearest  shalt  be  partaker-'  of  the  sin  of  him  that  speakrth 
evil,  by  believing  the  slander;  and  thou  also  shalt  have  sin,  because 
thou  believedat  him  that  spake  evil  of  thy  brother.  Detraction*  is  a 
pernicious  thing ;  an  inconstant  evil  spirit ;"  that  never  continues  in 
peace,  but  is  always  in  discord.  Wherefore1  refrain  thyself  from  it; 
and  keep  peace  evermore  with  thy  brother.  Put  on  a  holy  constancy/ 
in  which  there  are  no  sins,  but  all  is  full  of  joy ;l  and  do  good  of  thy 
labours.  "'  (Jive  without  distinction ■  to  all  that  are  in  want ;  not  doubt- 
ing in  whom  thou  givest.  But  give  to  all ;  for  God  will  have  us  give 
to  all  of  all  his  own  gifts.0  They,  therefore,  that  receive  shall  give  an 
BCCOUnt  to  God,  both  wherefore  they  received,  and  for  what  end. 
And  they  that  receive  without  a  real  need,  shall  give  an  account  for  it: 
but  he  that  gives  shall  be  innocent;  for  he  has  fulfilled  his  duty  as  he 
received  i*  from  God  ;  not  making  any  choice  to  whom  he  should  give, 
and  to  whom  not.  And  this  service  be  did  with  simplicity, and  to  the 
glory  of  God.'    Keep,  therefore,  this  command  according  as  I  have 


•  Faith.    EreniBOs,  61  .  <!-    Princ  Kb.  i.  <••  8,     Eneh.  Hi-t.  I 

lib.  v.  c.  &      Mhtfttt.  <b'  Itnarn.  V.  r!>.  A  ft  '  Hal>e  atwtinrnthm.              c  Oiinicii) 

concupuceptiam   «t   Mqaitiam.     M88.  Lamb  et <>\on.             *  hat.  Havt  timpHcity, 

and  In                         '(Jr.  Ei&  p),  «d  •  ,                     too  the  (>r.  and  Lamb. 

MS.   /  <  ;    rt  fu  hahehig  p<tcut\iin.                    \ 

Antii.cli.  H,im.  x\i\.            "  Ihttunu  '  Thl  Giwk  bath    T..            *  Kath.-r,  siinplinty  . 

ieeofding  t<>  the  Graek  readin  I  bj    \ thineaiiHi          '  *'r-  fa  mfcicA  lei 

evil  off tnct,  bill    nil   thin  -     --wo^fid   toriv  irovni 

m  \\<\.  Antioch.  Horn,  xcviii.         "  Simply.          °  Gr.  i*  r&v  tiiu» 

6upnftaTU)v.     M>'.  Lain!'.                         <.  P  Qkn '     t'sly  to  God. 


HIS    COMMANDS.  209 

delivered  it  unto  thee,  that  thy  repentance  may  be  found  to  be  sincere, 
and  that  good  may  come  to  thy  house;  and  have  a  pure  heart." 

The  Third  Command. 

Of  avoiding  lying :  and  tlie  repentance  of  HERMAs^br  his  dissimulation. 

"Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  "Love  truth,  and  let  all  the  speech 
be  true  which  proceeds  out  of  thy  mouth,  that  the  spirit  which  the 
Lord  hath  given  to  dwell  in  thy  flesh  may  be  found  true  towards  all 
men,  and  the  Lord  be  glorified,  who  hath  given  such  a  spirit  unto  thee  ; 
because  God  is  true  in  all  his  words,  and  in  him  there  is  no  lie.  They, 
therefore,  that  lie,  deny  the  Lord  ;  and  become  robbers  of  the  Lord,fc 
not  rendering  to  God  what  they  received  from  him.c  For  they  re- 
ceived the  spirit  free  from  lying :  if,  therefore,  they  make  that  a  liar, 
they  defile  what  was  committed  to  them  by  the  Lord,  and  become 
deceivers."  When  I  heard  this  I  wept  bitterly.  And  when  he  saw 
me  weeping,  he  said  unto  me,  "  Why  weepest  thou  ?"  And  I  said, 
"  Because,  sir,  I  doubt  whether  I  can  be  saved."  He  asked  me, 
"  Wherefore?"  I  replied,  "  Because,  sir,  I  never  spake  a  true  word 
in  my  life,  but  always  lived  in  dissimulation,  and  affirmed  a  lie  for 
truth  to  all  men ;  and  no  man  contradicted  me,  but  all  gave  credit  to 
my  words.  How  then  can  I  live,  seeing  I  have  done  in  this  manner  ?" 
And  he  said  unto  me,  "  Thou  thinkest  well  and  truly.  For  thou 
oughtest,  as  the  servant  of  God,  to  have  walked  in  the  truth,  and  not 
have  joined  an  evil  conscience  with  the  spirit  of  truth,  nor  have  grieved 
the  holy  and  true  Spirit  of  God."  And  I  replied  unto  him,  «  Sir,  I 
never  before  hearkened  so  diligently  to  these  things."  He  answered, 
"  Now  thou  hearest  them,  take  care,  from  henceforth,  that  even  those 
things  which  thou  hast  formerly  spoken  falsely  for  the  sake  of  thy 
business,  may,  by  thy  present  truth/  receive  credit.  For  even  those 
things  may  be  credited,  if  for  the  time  to  come  thou  shalt  speak  the 
truth  ;  and  by  so  doing6  thou  mayest  attain  unto  life.  And  whosoever 
shall  hearken  unto  this  command,  and  do  it,  and  shall  depart  from  all 
lying,  he  shall  live  unto  God." 

The  Fourth  Command. 
Of  putting  away  one's  wife  for  adultery. 

I.  "  Furthermore,"  said  he,  "  I  command  thee,  that  thou  keep 
thyself  chaste/  and  that  thou  suffer  not  any  thought  of  any  other5  mar- 
riage, or  of  fornication,  to  enter  into  thy  heart;  for  such  a  thought  pro- 

a  Antioch.  Horn.  Ixvi.         b  According  to  the  Gr.         c  See  below,  book  iii.  sira.  ix.  ch. 

32.  d  Through  these  words.     Lat.  His  verbis  et  ilia  fidemrecipiant.  *  Jf  thou 

shalt  keep  the  truth.  f  Chastity.  s  Another  mans. 

27  s  2 


210  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

duces  a  groat  sin.  But  be  thou  at  all  times  mindful  of  the  Lord,  an^, 
thou  shalt  never  sin.  For  if  such  an  evil  thought  should  ante  in  thy 
heart,  thou  shouldest  be  guilty  oi  no  ;  and  they  who  do  such 

things  follow  the  way  of  death.  Look,  therefore,  to  thyself,  and  keep 
thyself  from  such  a  thought:  for  where  chastity  remains  in  the  heart 
of  a  righteous  man,  mere  Bn  evil  thought  ought  never  to  arise."  And 
I  said  unto  him,  «  Sir,  Buffer  me  to  speak  a  little  to  you."  He  bade 
me  say  on,  and  I  answered,  "Sir,  if  a  man  shall  have  a  wife  that  is 
faithful  in  the  Lord,  and  shall  cateh  her  in  adultery,  doth  a  man  sin 
that  Continues  to  live  still  with  her?"  And  he  said  unto  me,  "As 
long  as  he  is  ignorant  of  her  sin,  he  commits  no  fault  in  living  with 
her;  but  if  a  man  shall  know  his  wife  to  have  offended,  and  she  shall 
not  repent  of  her  sin,  but  go  on  still  in  her  fornication,  and  a  man 
shall  continue  nevertheless  to  live  with  her,  he  shall  become  guilty  of 
her  sin,  and  partake  with  her  in  her  adultery."  And  I  said  unto  him, 
-'  What,  therefore,  is  to  be  done,  if  the  woman  continues  on  in  her 
sin?"  He  answered,  "  Let  her  husband  put  her  away,  and  let  him 
continue  by  himself.  But  if  he  shall  put  away  his  wife,  and  marry 
another,  he  also  doth  commit  adultery."  And  I  said,  "  What  if  the' 
woman  that  is  so  put  away  shall  repent,  and  be  willing  to  return  to 
her  husband  ;  shall  she  not  be  received  by  him  ?"  He  said  unto  me, 
"Yes;  and  if  her  husband  shall  not  receive  her,  he  will  sin,  and  com- 
mit a  great  offence  against  himself:  but  he  ought  to  receive  the  of- 
fender, if  she  repents;  only  not  often;  for  to  the  servants  of  God 
is  but  one  repentance.  And  for  this  cause  a  man  that  putteth 
away  his  wife  ought  not  to  take  another,  because  she  may  repent. 
Tins  ad  is  alike  both  in  the  man  and  in  the  woman.  Now  they  com- 
mit adultery,  not  only  who  pollute  their  flesh,  but  who  also  make  an 
image.  'If,  therefore,  a  woman  perseveres  in  any  thing  of  this  kind, 
and  repents  not,  depart  from  her,  and  live  not  with  her;  otherwise 
thou  also  shalt  l,t.  partaker  of  her  sin.  Bui  it  is,  therefore,  commanded, 
that  both  the  man  and  die  woman  should  remain  unmarried,  be 
such  persons  may  repent.  Nor  do  1  in  this  administer  an)'  occasion 
lor  the  doing  of  these  things;  but  rather  that  whoso  has  offended, 
should  not  offend  any  more.  But  for  their  former  sins,  God,  who  has- 
the  powei  of  healing,  will  give  a  remedy  ;    for  he  has  the  power  of  all 

things." 

II.  I  asked  him  again,  and  s,(id,  "Seeing  the  Lord  hath  thought 
me  worth)  thai  thou  shouldst  dwell  with  me  continually,  speak  a  few- 
words  unto  me,  because  I  understand  nothing,  and  my  heart  is  hard- 
ened through  my  former  conversation;  and  open  my  understanding, 

because  I  am  very  dull,  and   apprehend    nothing  at  all.93      And  he  an- 


>8ei      Car,  rii  16.  »Srnw. 


HIS   COMMANDS.  211 

swering,  said  unto  me,  "I  am  the  minister  of  repentance,"  and  give 
understanding  to  all  that  repent."  Does  it  not  seem  to  thee  to  be  a 
very  wise  thing c  to  repent?  Because  he  that  does  so  gets  great  un- 
derstanding ;  for  he  is  sensible  that  he  hath  sinned  and  done  wickedly 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  remembers  within  himself/  that  he 
has  offended,  and  repents  and  does  no  more  wickedly,  but  does  that 
which  is  good,  and  humbles  his  soul,  and  afflicts  it,  because  he  has 
offended.  You  see,  therefore,  that  repentance  is  great  wisdom.''  And 
I  said  unto  him,  «  For  this  cause,  Sir,  I  inquire  diligently  into  all  things, 
because  I  am  a  sinner,  that  I  may  know  what  I  must  do  that  I  may 
live;  because  my  sins  are  many."  And  he  said  unto  me,  "Thou 
shalt  live  if  thou  shalt  keep  these  my  commandments.  And  whoso- 
ever shall  hear  and  do  these  commands,  shall  live  unto  God." 

III.  And  I  said  unto  him,  "  I  have  even  now  heard  from  certain 
teachers  that  there  is  no  other  repentance  besides  that  of  baptism  ; 
when  we  go  down  into  the  water,  and  receive  the  forgiveness  of  our 
sins;  and  that  after  that,  we  must  sin  no  more,  but  live  in  purity."' 
And  he  said  unto  me,  "  Thou  hast  been  rightly  informed/  Never- 
theless, seeing  now  thou  inquirest  diligently  into  all  things,  I  will 
manifest  this  also  unto  thee  ;  yet  not  so  as  to  give  any  occasion  of  sin- 
ning, either  to  those  who  shall  hereafter  believe,  or  to  those  who  have 
already  believed  in  the  Lord.  For  neither  they  who  have  newly  be- 
lieved/ or  who  shall  hereafter  believe,  have  any  repentance  of  sins, 
but  forgiveness  of  them.  But  as  to  those  who  have  been  called  to  the 
faith,  and  since  that  are  fallen  into  any  gross  sin,  the  Lord  hath  ap- 
pointed repentance ;  because  God  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  all  men's 
hearts,  and  their  infirmities,  and  the  manifold  wickedness  of  the  devil, 
who  is  always  contriving  something  against  the  servants  of  God,  and 
maliciously  lays  snares  for  them.  Therefore,  our  merciful  Lord  had 
compassion  towards  his  -creature,  and  appointed  that  repentance,  and 
gave  unto  me  the  power  of  it.  And,  therefore,  I  say  unto  thee,  if  any 
one,  after  that  great  and  holy  calling,  shall  be  tempted  by  the  devil 
and  sin,  he  has  one  repentance.'1  But  if  he  shall  often  sin  and  repent, 
it  shall  not  profit  such  a  one  ;  for  he  shall  hardly  live  unto  God."  And 
I  said,  "  Sir,  I  am  restored  again  to  life,  since  I  have  thus  diligently 
hearkened  to  these  commands.  For  I  perceive,  that  if  I  shall  not 
hereafter  add  any  more  to  my  sins,  I  shall  be  saved."  And  he  said, 
"  Thou  shalt  be  saved  ;  and  so  shall  all  others,  as  many  as  shall  ob- 
serve these  commandments." 

IV.  And  again  I  said  unto  him,  "Sir,  seeing  thou  hearest  me  pa- 
tiently, show  me  yet  one  thing  more."      "  Tell  me,"  saith  he,  "  what 

«  Propositus.  b  See  below,  chap.  iii.         c  Great  wisdom.        d  In  his  understanding. 

'Chastity.         f  Rightly  heard.  e  MS.  Lamb.      Qui  nvodo  mdidcrun:.       Who  have  just 

»nw  believed.         h  Vid.  Annof.  Coteler.  in  loe.  p.  00,  61. 


212  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMA8. 

it  is."  And  I  said,  "  If  a  husband  or  wife  die,  and  the  party  which 
survives  marry  again,  does  he  sin  in  so  doing?"  ""He  that  mar- 
ries," says  he,  "sins  not;  howbeit,  if  he  shall  remain  single,  he  shall 
thereby  gain  to  himself  great  honour  before  die  Lord.  Keep,  there- 
fore, thy  chastity  and  modesty, and  thou  shalt  live  unto  God.  Observe 
from  henceforth  those  things  which  I  Bpeak  with  thee,  and  command 
thee  to  observe ;  from  the  time  that  1  have  hern  delivered  unto  thee, 
and  dwell  in  thy  house.1  So  shall  thy  former  sins  be  forgiven,  if  thou 
shalt  keep  these  mv  commandments.  And  in  like  manner  shall  all 
others  be  forgiv.n,  who  shall  observe  these  my  commandments." 

The  Fifth  Command. 

Of  the  sadness  of  tfie  heart ;  and  of  patience. 

I.  "  Bk  patient,"  says  he,  "  and  long  suffering  ;c  so  shalt  thou  hav< 
dominion  over  all  wicked  works,  and  shalt  fulfil d  all  righteousness. 
For  if  thou  shalt  be  patient,  the  holy  spirit  which  dwelleth  in  thee  shall 
be  pure,  and  not  be  darkened  by  any  evil  spirit ;  but  being  full  of  joy 
shall  be  enlarged,  and  feast  in  the  body'  in  which  it  dwells,  and  - 
the  Lord'  with  joy  and  in  great  peace.  But  if  any  anger  s  shall  over- 
take thee,  presently  the  holy  spirit  which  is  in  thee  will  be  straitened, 
am!  seek  to  depart  from  thee.  For  he  is  choked  by  the  evil  spirit,  and 
has  lmt  the  liberty1  of  serving'  the  Lord  as  he  would  ;  for  he 
by  anger.'  ''When,  therefore,  both  these  spirits  dwell  together,  it  is 
destructive  to  a  man.  As  if  one  should  take  a  little  wormwood,  and 
put  it  into  a  vessel  of  honey,  the  whole  honey  would  be  spoiled  ;  and 
a  great  quantity  of  honey  is  corrupted  by  a  very  little  wormwood,  and 
loses  the  sweetness  of  honey,  and  is  no  longer  acceptable  to  its  lord, 
because  the  whole  honey  is  made  bitter,  and  loses  its  use.  But  if  no 
wormwood  he  put  into  the  honey,  it  is  sweet  and  profitable  to  its  lord. 
Thus  is  forbearance  sweeter  than  honey,  and  profitable  to  the  Lord  who 

dwelleth  in  it.     But  anger'  is  unprofitable.     If,  therefore,  anger  shall 

be  mixed  with  forbearance,  the  soul  is  distressed,  and  its  prayer  is  DOt 
profitable  with'"  God."      Ami  1  said  unto  him,   "Sir,  1  would   know 

the  sinfulness  of  anger,'  that  I  ma)  keep  myself  from  it.""     And  he 

said  unto  me,  M  Thou  shalt  know  it  ;  and  if  thou  shalt  not  keep  thy- 
self from  it,  thou   shalt   lose  thy  hope  with  all  thy  house.      Wheiefon 


«  Vi.l.  .Not.  Coteler,  in  loe.  \>-  »'»>.  15-  C.  Rom.  Mi.  S.Comp.  l  <\>r.  mi.        ■  Ms  | 
melius;  /  '//  troditm  m .  Tint  tli. .u  baet  been  delivered  onto  me,  and  1  dwt 

\ls.  I.  i-i1'.  .  d  Work*         '  Ms.  Lamb,  Melius,  I 

.  .      With      tkt     I'Dll:,.  '    <  ' 

I  ill.        *  Plate,        '  i,     ■  •  i  I?  >th  Athanaaioi  aa 

bochui  add  ben  theae  arorde,  .»mitt.'l  in  VariA  ftreeerawce, (or, toy 

iag)  tfc  I  aja,  tkt  (/ni/." 

• 


HIS    COMMANDS.  213 

depart  from  it.  For  I  the  messenger a  of  righteousness  am  with  thee  ; 
and  all  that  depart  from  it,  as  many  as  shall  repent  with  all  their  hearts, 
shall  live  unto  God ;  and  I  will  be  with  them  and  will  keep  them  all. 
For  all  such  as  have  repented,  have  been  justified  by  the  Most  Holy 
Messenger,  who  is  a  minister  of  salvation." 

II.  "And  now,"  says  he,  "hear  the  wickedness  of  anger:6  how 
evil  and  hurtful  it  is,  and  how  it  overthrows  the  servants  of  God  ;  for 
it  cannot  hurt  those c  that  are  full  of  faith,  because  the  power''  of  God 
is  with  them ;  but  it  overthrows  the  doubtful,  and  those  that  are  desti- 
tute of  faith.  For  as  often  as  it  sees  such  men f  it  casts  itself  into  their 
hearts  ;  and  so  a  man  or  woman  is  in  bitterness  for  nothing — for  the 
things  of  life  ;  or  for  sustenance  ;  or  for  a  vain  word,  if  any  should 
chance  to  fall  in ;  or  by  reason  of  any  friend  ;  or  for  a  debt ;  or  for 
any  other  superfluous  things  of  the  like  nature.  For  these  things  are 
foolish  and  superfluous,  and  vain  to  the  servants  of  God.  But  equa- 
nimity is  strong,  and  forcible,  and  of  great  power,  and  sitteth  in  great 
enlargement;  is  cheerful,  rejoicing  in  peace  ;  and  glorifying  God  at  all 
times  with  meekness.  And  this  long  suffering  dwells  with  those  that 
are  full  of  faith.  But  anger  s  is  foolish,  and  light,  and  empty.  Now 
bitterness  is  bred  through  folly  ;  by  bitterness,5  anger ;  by  anger,5  fur}-. 
And  this  fury  arising  from  so  many  evil  principles,  worketh  a  great  and 
uncurable  sin.  For  when  all  these  things  are  in  the  same  man "  in 
which  the  holy  spirit  dwells,  the  vessel  cannot  contain  them,  but  runs 
over ;  and  because  the  spirit,  being  tender,  cannot  tarry  with  the  evil 
one,  it  departs,  and  dwells  with  him  that  is  meek.  When,  therefore, 
it  is  departed  from  the  man  in  whom  it  dwelt,  that  man  becomes  desti- 
tute of  the  holy  spirit,  and  is  afterwards  filled  with  wicked  spirits/  and 
is  blinded  with  evil  thoughts.  Thus  does  it  happen  to  all  angry  men. 
Wherefore  depart  thou  from  anger,  and  put  on  equanimity,  and  resist 
wrath ;  so  shalt  thou  be  found  with  modesty  and  chastity  by  God.k 
Take  good  heed,  therefore,  that  thou  neglect  not  this  commandment. 
For  if  thou  shalt  obey  this  command,  then  shalt  thou  also  be  able  to 
observe  the  other  commandments  which  I  shall  command  thee. 
Wherefore  strengthen  thyself  now  in  these  commands,  that  thou 
mayest  live  unto  God.  And  whosoever  shall  observe  these  command- 
ments, shall  live  unto  God." 


°  Angel.  h  Angriness.  c  Gr.  Work  upon,     cvcpyrjoai  ;  et  MS.  Larnb.  faccre. 

d  Virtue.  '  Gr.  Towvrovf  dvOp'-nox^.  /In  the  Greek  of  Athanasius  and  Antiochus  the 
<ense  is  fuller. — "  Having  nothing  of  bitterness  in  itself,  and  continuing  always  in  tncckncss 
and  quict?iess."  *  Angriness.     Disposition*to  anger.     See  above.         *  Vessel.         *  In 

the  Greek  of  Athanasius  follow  these  words,  omitted  in  the  Latin  vers,  of  Hermas — "  And 
is  unstable  in  all  his  doings,  being  drawn  Mther  and  thither  by  wicked  men."  *  In  the 

Greek  of  Athanasius  it  runs  better  thus — Applauded  with  reverence  by  those  who  are  beloved 
of  God. 


214  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST     HERMAS. 

Tiik   Six  m   Command. 
Vint  every  man  has  tv  and  of  the  mggesHoiU  of  both. 

I.  «  I  commanded  thee,'1  wdd  he,  i*  in  my  first  commandment. 
thou  shouldst  keep  faith,  and  fear,  and  repentance." *    "Yes, 
said  I.     He  continued,  ^  But  nowl  will  show  thee  the  virtues  of  thea 
commands,  that   thou   mayest  know  their  effects  ;  how  they  are  pre- 
scribed' alike  to  the  just  and  unjust.     Do  thou,  therefore,  believ< 
righteous,  but  give  no  credit  to  the  unrighteous.     For  righteousness 
keepeth  the  right  way,  but  unrighteousness  the  wicked  way.     Do  thou. 
therefore,  keep  the  right  way,  and  leave  that  which  is  evil.     For  thi 
evil  way  has  not  a  good  end,  but  hath  many  stumbling-blocks;  it  is 
rugged  and  full  of  thorns,  and  leads  to  destruction,  and  is  hurtful  to  all 
such  as  walk  in  it.     But  they  who  go  in  the  right  way  walk  with  even- 
ness, and  without  offence,  because  it  is  not  rough  nor  thorny.     Thou 
seest  therefore  how  it  is  best  to  walk  in  this  way.     Thou  shalt,  there- 
fore, go,"  says  he,  "  and  all  others  as  many  as  believe  in  God  with  all 
their  heart,  shall  go  through  it." 

II.  "And  now,"  says  he,  "understand,''  first  of  all,  what  belongs 
to  faith.  There  are  two  angels  with  man  ;  one  of  righteousness,  the 
other  of  iniquity.91  And  I  said  unto  him,  "Sir,  how  shall  I  know 
thai  there  are  two  such  angels  with  man  ?"  »  Hear,"  says  he,  "  ami 
understand.  The  angel  of  righteousness  is  mild,  and  modest, 
gentle,  and  quiet.  When,  therefore,  he  gets  into  thy  heart,  imme- 
diately be  talks  with  thee  of  righteousness,  of  modesty,  of  chastr 
bountifulness,  of  forgiveness,  of  charity,  and  piety.  When  all  these 
things  come  into  thy  heart,  know  then  that  the  angel  of  righteous 

is  with  thee.     Wherefore  hearken  to  this  angel,  and  to  his  works. 
Learn   also   the   works  of  the    angel  of  iniquity.     He  is,  first  o(  all, 
bitter,  and  angry,  and  foolish;  and  his  works  are  pernicious,  and 
throw  the  servants  of  God.      When,  therefore, these  things  come  into 

th\  heart,  thou  shalt  know,  by  his  works,  that  this  is  the  angel  of  ini- 
quity.11 And  I  said  unto  him,  " Sir,  how  shall  I  understand  these 
things?"    "II  and  understand.     When  anger  over- 

takes thee,  or  bitterness,  know  that  he  is  in  thee;  as  also  when  the 

desire  of  mauv   things,'    and  of  the   b<  Si    DM  fctS,  and   o\    drunk. -ir 

when  the  love  of  what  belongs  to  others,  pride,  and  much  speaking, 

and  ambition,  and  tin-   like  things  Come  upon  thee.      When,  then 

.____ , __e — - 

I  \  i,l.  C.trl.r.  Annul,  m  foe.  p.  i,,.  B&  I  '  mp.   E  lit  OxOO.  |>.  61.      N"t.  ft.  *  Lat. 

ntiam.     It  should  rather  be  aoafi  -  in  the  Greek  of  Athenaeum, 

pears  by  tin-  first  commandment,  prbjdi  ii  here  referred  to.        f  I 

d  \  i.l.  Antioch.  Horn.  i\i.    Coop.  Orig.  lil>.  in.     D*  Prim \\>.  el  in  Lac.  Hum. 

II  •    r.      (Jr.  II,  •  . 


HIS    COMMANDS.  215 

these  things  arise  in  thy  heart,  know  that  the  angel  of  iniquity  is  with 
thee.  Seeing,  therefore,  thou  knowest  his  works,  depart  from  them 
all,  and  give  no  credit  to  him  ;  because  his  works  are  evil,  and  become 
not  the  servants  of  God.  Here,  therefore,  thou  hast  the  works  of  both 
these  angels.  Understand  now,  and  believe  the  angel  of  righteous- 
ness, because  his  instruction  is  good.  For  let  a  man  be  never  so 
happy,  yet  if  the  thoughts  of  the  other  angel  rise  in  his  heart,  that  man  or 
woman  must  needs  sin.  But  let  a  man  or  woman  be  never  so  wicked, 
if  the  works  of  the  angel  of  righteousness  come  into  his  heart,  that 
man  or  woman  must  needs  do  some  good.  Thou  seest,  therefore,  how 
it  is  good  to  follow  the  angel  of  righteousness.  If  therefore  thou  shalt 
follow  him,  and  submit  toa  his  works,  thou  shalt  live  unto  God.  And 
as  many  as  shall  submit  to"  his  works,  shall  live  also  unto  God." 

The  Seventh  Command. 
That  we  must  fear  God,  but  not  the  devil. 

b «  Fear  God,"  says  he,  «  and  keep  his  commandments.  For  if 
thou  keepest  his  commandments  thou  shalt  be  powerful  in  every  work, 
and  all  thy  work  shall  be  excellent.0  For  by  fearing  God,  thou  shalt 
do  every  thing  well.  This  is  that  fear  with  which  thou  must  be 
affected,  that  thou  mayest  be  saved.  But  fear  not  the  devil ;  for  if 
thou  fearest  the  Lord,  thou  shalt  have  dominion  over  him,  because 
there  is  no  power  in  him.  Now  if  there  be  no  power  in  him,  then 
neither  is  he  to  be  feared.  But  he  in  whom  there  is  excellent  power, 
he  is  to  be  feared  ;  for  every  one  that  has  power  is  to  be  feared.  But 
he  that  has  no  power  is  despised  by  every  one.  Fear  the  works  of  the 
devil,  because  they  are  evil.  For  by  fearing  the  Lord,  thou  wilt  fear, 
and  not  do  the  works  of  the  devil,  but  keep  thyself  from  them.  There 
is,  therefore,  a  two-fold  fear.  d  If  thou  wilt  not  do  evil,  fear  the  Lord, 
and  thou  shalt  not  do  it.  But  if  thou  wilt  do  good,  ethe  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  strong,  and  great,  and  glorious.  Wherefore,  fear  God,  and 
thou  shalt  live  :  and  whosoever  shall  fear  him,  and  keep  his  command- 
ments, their  life  is  with  the  Lord.  But  they  who  keep  them  not, 
neither  is  life  in  them." 


a  Gr.  Tlievarii.  Lat.  Credideris ;  Believe.         h  Vid.  Antioch.  Horn,  cxxvii.  Eccles.  xii.  13. 
c  'AovyxpiTo;.       Without  comparison,  or  without  mixture.  ^Gr.  Antiochi.  ■  In  the 

Greek  of  Antiochus  these  words  follow,  which  make  the  connection  more  clear;  "Fear 
also  the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  be  able  to  doit,  for." 


216  THE   SHEPHERD    OF   ST.    HERMAS. 

The  Eighth  Commahd. 

That  we  must  flee  from  evil,  and  do  good. 

"I  BATE  told  tlur,"  said  he,  "thai  there  are  two  kinds  of  creatures 
of  the  Lord,  and  that  Ihere  is  a  two-fold'  abstinence.  From  some 
things,  therefore,  thou  must  abstain,  and  from  others  not."  I  answered, 
m  Declare  to  me,  Sir,  from  what  I  must  abstain,  and  from  what  not." 
"Hearken!"  said  he.  "Keep  thyself  from  evil,  and  do  it  not;  but 
abstain  not  from  good,  but  do  it.  For  if  thou  shalt  abstain  from  what 
is  good,  and  not  do  it,  thou  shalt  sin.  Abstain,  therefore,  from  all 
evil,  and  thou  shalt  know"  all  righteousness."  I  said,  "  What  evil 
things  are  they  from  which  I  must  abstain  ?"  "  Hearken  !"  said  he  ; 
"from  adultery,  from  drunkenness,  from  riots,  from  excess  of  eating, 
from  daintiness  and  dishonesty,  from  pride,  from  fraud,  from  lying, 
from  detraction,  from  hypocrisy,  from  remembrance  of  injuries,  and 
from  all  evil  speaking.  For  these  are  the  works  of  iniquity,  from  which 
the  servant  of  God  must  abstain.  For  he  that  cannot  keep  himself 
from  these  things,  cannot  live  unto  God.  But  hear,"  said  he,  "what 
follows  of  these  kind  of  things:  for  indeed  many  more  there  are  from 
which  the  servant  of  God  must  abstain  :  from  theft  and  cheating,  from 
false  witness,  from  covetousness,  from  boasting,  and  all  other  things 
of  the  like  nature.  Do  these  things  seem  to  thee  to  be  evil  or  not? 
Indeed  they  are  very  evil  to  the  servants  of  God.  Wherefore  the  ser- 
vant of  God  must  abstain  from  all  these  works. c  Keep  thyself,  there- 
fore, from  them,  that  thou  mayest  live  unto  God,  and  be  written  among 
those  that  abstain  from  them.  And  thus  have  I  shown  thee  what  things 
thou  must  avoid:  now  learn  from  what  thou  must  not  abstain.  Abstain 
not  from  any  good  works,  but  do  them.  Hear,"  said  he,  "what  the 
virtue  of  those  good  works  is  which  thou  must  do,  that  thou  in 

LVed.      The  first  of  all    is  fiuth,  the  fear  o{  the  Lord,  charity,  con- 
cord, equity,  truth,  patience,  chastity.     There  is  nothing  better  than 
things  in  the  life  of  man  ■  who  shall  keep  and  do  things  in  their 

life.-      Hear  next  what  follow  these.      To  minister  to  the  widows;   not 

to  despise  the  fatherless  and  poor ;  to  redeem  the  servants  of  1  Sod  from 

necessity  ;  to  be  hospitable,  (for  in  hospitality  there  is  sometimes  . 
fruit);'    not    to  be  contentious,  but    be  quiet  :   tO   be  humble    above   all 

men;  to  reverence  the  aged;  to  labour  to  be  righteous;  to  respect' 


■  Antioch.  Hmim.  ixxix.        k  /'<-,  •eooraing  to  the  Greek,  f  Vld  Coteler. 

inloc.  *  ']'i„.  mm  ben  ii  defective,  end  may  be  (hoi  reetoied  from  the  <■'• 

Atli.m.t-iii-.  :   ••   II  I  doth  obotom    from    tlmn,  thall   be  happi, 

mhuHflt,"    And  m  tin'  Lamb,  M>.  B  u        '  ,ir-  lyeSwelent,  good 


HIS    COMMANDS.  217 

the  brotherhood ;  to  bear  affronts ;  to  be  long-suffering ;  a  not  to  cast 
away  those  that  have  fallen  from  the  faith,  but  to  convert  them,  and 
make  them  be  of  good  cheer;6  to  admonish  sinners;  not  to  oppress 
those  that  are  our  debtors;  and  all  other  things  of  a  like  kind.  Do 
these  things  seem  to  thee  to  be  good,  or  not?"  And  I  said,  "  What 
can  be  better  than  these  words ?"  "Live  then,"  said  he,  "in  these 
commandments,  and  do  not  depart  from  them.  For  if  thou  shalt  keep 
all  these  commandments  thou  shalt  live  unto  God.  And  all  they  that 
shall  keep  these  commandments  shall  live  unto  God." 


The  Ninth  Command. 

That  we  must  ask  of  God  daily,  and  without  doubting. 

Again  he  said  unto  me,c  "  Remove  from  thee  all  doubting,  and 
question  nothing  at  all  when  thou  askest  any  thing  of  the  Lord,  saying 
within  thyself,  "How  shall  I  be  able  to  ask  any  thing  of  the  Lord,  and 
receive  it,  seeing  I  have  so  greatly  sinned  against  him  ?  Do  not  think 
thus,  but  turn  unto  the  Lord  with  all  thy  heart,  and  ask  of  him  without 
doubting,  and  thou  shalt  know  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  how  that  he  will 
not  forsake  thee,  but  will  fulfil  the  request  of  thy  soul.  For  God  is  not 
as  man,  mindful  of  the  injuries  he  has  received  ;  but  he  forgets  injuries, 
and  has  compassion  upon  his  creature.  Wherefore  purify  thy  heart 
from  all  the  vices  of  this  present  world,  and  observe  the  commands  I 
have  before  delivered  unto  thee,  from  God,  and  thou  shalt  receive  what- 
soever good  things  thou  shalt  ask,  and  nothing  shall  be  wanting  unto 
thee  of  all  thy  petitions,  if  thou  shalt  ask  of  the  Lord  without  doubting. 
dBut  they  that  are  not  such,  shall  obtain  none  of  those  things  which 
they  ask.  For  they  that  are  full  of  faith  ask  all  things  with  confidence, 
and  receive  from  the  Lord,  because  they  ask  without  doubting.  But 
he  that  doubts  shall  hardly  live  unto  God,  except  he  repent.  Where- 
fore purify  thy  heart  from  doubting,  and  put  on  faith,  and  trust  in  God, 
and  thou  shalt  receive  all  that  thou  shalt  ask.  But  and  if  thou  shouldst 
chance  to  ask  somewhat,  and  not  [immediately] c  receive  it,  yet  do  not, 
therefore,  doubt,  because  thou  hast  not  presently  received  the  petition 
of  thy  soul.  For  it  may  be  thou  shalt  not  presently  receive  it,  for  thy 
trial,  or  else  for  some  sin  which  thou  knowest  not.  But  do  not  thou 
leave  off  to  ask/  and  then  thou  shalt  receive.    Else  if  thou  shalt  cease 


°  Add  from    the    Gr.    of    Athanasius    and    Antioehus,    "Not   to  remember  injuries; 
to  comfort  those  who  labour  in  their  minds."  *Gr.  ivOv^ovi.  «  Vid.  Antioch. 

Horn,  lxxxviii.      Confer.  Fragm.   D.  Grabe,  Spicilcg.  torn.  i.  page  303.  d  Add 

from  the  Gr.  both  of  Athanas.  and  Antioch.,  "  But  if  thou  doubt  est  in  thy  heart 
thou  shalt  rceeivc  none  of  thy  petitions.  For  those  who  distrust  (or  doubt  of)  God,  arc  like 
the  double-minded,  who  shall  obtain  none  of  these  things."  •  So   MS.  Lamb.  Tardius 

accipias  ;  and  so  the  Gr.  Bpadvnpov  \ap(}<ivzts.        /  Asking  the  petition  of  thy  soul. 

28  T 


218  THE    SHEPHERD    OP    BT.    UK  it  MAS. 

to  ask,  thou  must  complain  of  thyself,  and  not  of  God,  that  he  has  not 
given  unto  thee  what  thou  didst  desire.  Consider,  therefore,  this 
doubting,  how  cruel  and  pernicious  it  is,  and  how  utterly  it  roots  out 
many  from  the  faith  who  were  very  faithful  and  linn.  For  this  doubt- 
ing is  the  daughter  of  the  devil,  and  deals  very  wickedly  with  the  ser- 
vants of  (iod.  Despise  it,  therefore,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  it  on 
every  occasion.*  Put  on  a  firm  and  powerful  faith  ;  for  faith  promises 
all  things,  and  perfects  all  things.  But  doubting  will  not  believe  that 
it  shall  obtain  any  thing  but  all  it  can  do.  Thou  seest,  therefore,"  says 
lie,  "how  faith  Cometh  from  above,  from  God,  and  has  great  power. 
But  doubting  is  an  earthly  spirit,  and  proceedeth  from  the  devil,  and 
has  no  strength.  Do  thou,  therefore,  keep  the  virtue  of  faith,  and  de- 
part from  doubting,  in  which  is  no  virtue,  and  thou  shalt  live  unto 
God.     And  all  shall  live  unto  God,  as  many  as  shall  do  these  things." 

The  Tenth  Command. 

Of  the  sadness  of  the  heart;  and  that  we  must  take  heed' not  to  grieve 
the  Spirit  of  God  that  is  in  us. 

I.  "  Put  all  sadness  far  from  thee ;  for  it  is  the  sister  of  doubting 
and  of  anger."  "  How,  Sir,"  said  I,  «  is  it  the  sister  of  these  ?  For 
sadness,  and  anger,  and  doubting,  seem  to  me  to  be  very  different  from 
one  another."  And  he  answered,  "Art  thou  without  sense,  that  thou 
dost  not  understand  it  ? b  For  sadness  is  the  most  mischievous  of  all 
Spirits,  and  the  worst  to  the  servants  of  God :  it  destroys  the  spirits  of 
all  men,  and  torments  the  holy  spirit;0  and  again  it  saves."  "Sir," 
said  I,  "  I  am  very  foolish,  and  understand  not  these  J  things.  I  cannot 
apprehend  how  it  can  torment,  and  yet  save."  "  Hear,"  said  he, 
«  and  understand.  They  who  never  sought  out  the  truth,  nor  inquired 
concerning  the  majesty  of  God,  but  only  believed,  are  involved  in  the 
affairs  of  the  heathen.  And  there  is  another  lying  prophet,4  that  de- 
Btroys  the  minds7  of  the  Bervants  of  God ;  that  is,  of  those  that  are 
doubtful,  not  of  those  thai  fully  trust  in  the  Lord.    Now  those  doubtful 

persons  come  to  him,  as  to  a  Divine  Spirit,  and  inquire  of  him  what 
shall  befall  tliein.  And  this  lying  prophet,  baring  no  power  in  him  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  answers  them  according  to  their  demands;  and  tills  their 
souls  with  promises  according  ;i^  thej  desire.  Howbeit  that  prophet 
is  vain,  and  answers  vain  things  to  those  who  are  themselves  vain. 
And  whatsoever  is  asked  of  him  b)  vain  men,  he  answers  them  vainly. 
Nevertheless  he  apeaketfa  some  things  truly.     For  the  devil  tills  him 

with  his  spirit,  that  he  m;i\   Overthrow  some  of  the  lighteOUS. 

a  In  rrn  1/  thing.  h  Willwttt  smsi   tli<>u  dott  m<:  uiuln stmid  it. 

G  sek  <>t  AthanaatM  b  better:  M Jtnd  Juhvftlk  mm  m»re  than  u>. 
*  Qantiont.       '  Vid.  EdiL  Oxoo.  p.  70, b.  Coopt  S Cor.  m  io.       'Let. 

(ran  the  (Jr. 


HIS    COMMANDS.  219 

II.  "  Whosoever,  therefore,  are  strong  in  the  faith  of  the  Lord,  and 
have  put  on  the  truth,  they  are  not  joined  to  such  spirits,  but  depart 
from  them.  But  they  are  doubtful,  and  often  repenting,  like  the  hea- 
thens, consult  them,  and  heap  up  to  themselves  great  sin,  serving  idols. 
As  many,  therefore,  as  are  such,  inquire  of  them  upon  every  occasion ; 
worship  idols,  and  are  foolish,  and  void  of  the  truth.  For  every  spirit 
that  is  given  from  God  needs  not  to  be  asked ;  but,  having  the  power 
of  the  divinity,  speaks  all  things  of  itself;  because  He  comes  from 
above,  from  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  he  that  being  asked, 
speaks  according  to  men's  desires,  and  concerning  many  other  affairs 
of  this  present  world,  understands  not  the  things  which  relate  unto 
God.  For  these  spirits  are  darkened  through  such  affairs,  and  cor- 
rupted, and  broken.  As  good  vines,  if  they  are  neglected,  are  op- 
pressed with  weeds  and  thorns,  and  at  last  killed  by  them,  so  are  the 
men  who  believe  such  spirits ;  they  fall  into  many  actions  and  busi- 
nesses, and  are  void  of  sense ;  and  when  they  think  of  things  pertain- 
ing unto  God,  they  understand  nothing  at  all :  "but  if  at  any  time  they 
chance  to  hear  any  thing  concerning  the  Lord,  their  thoughts b  are  upon 
their  business.  But  they  that  have  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  search 
out  the  truth  concerning  God,  having  all  their  thoughts  towards  the 
Lord ,c  apprehend  whatsoever  is  said  to  them,  and  forthwith  understand 
it,  because  they  have  the  fear  of  the  Lord  in  them.  For  where  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord  dwells,  there  is  also  much  understanding d  added. 
Wherefore  join  thyself  to  the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  understand  all 
things.* 

III.  "  Learn  now,  0  unwise  man!  how  sadness  troubleth/  the  holy 
spirit ;  and  how  it  saves.  When  a  man  that  is  doubtful  is  engaged  in 
any  affair,  and  does  not  accomplish  it  by  reason  of  his  doubting,  this 
sadness  enters  into  him  and  grieves  the  holy  spirit,  and  makes  him  sad. 
Again,  anger,  when  it  overtakes  any  man  for  any  business,  he  is  greatly 
moved :  and  then  again  sadness  entereth  into  the  heart  of  him  who  was 
moved  with  anger,  and  he  is  troubled  for  what  he  hath  done,  and  re- 
penteth  because  he  hath  done  amiss.e  This  sadness,  therefore  seemeth 
to  bring  salvation,  because  he  repenteth  of  his  evil  deed.  But  both  the 
other  things,  namely,  doubting  and  sadness,  such  as  before  was  men- 
tioned, vex  the  spirit:  doubting,  because  his  work  did  not  succeed; 

«  And  understand  nothing  at  all,  thinking  of  riches.     Lat.  b  Senses.  c  Gr.  of 

Athanasius,  KapSiav  Ixovrts  n-puj  Kvpiov.  So  that  the  Latin  should  be  habentes,  not.  habent 
d  Gr.  Zvvtcts  ttoXX/j.         «  Gr.  Ylavruv  vonat^  ;  and  so  the  Lamb.  MS.  Omnia  sries.  f  Gr. 

tKTpifht..  6  In  the  Greek  of  Atbanasius,  follows  :  ictti  notr)arj  n  xa<i'>,>,  »  Jlnd  he  doth  some- 
thing whirhit  ill ,"  which  better  agrees  with  what  follows,  "  because  he  has  done  amiss." 
The  text  in  this  place  being  evidently  corrupted,  I  have  endeavoured  to  restore  the  true 
sense  of  it  from  the  Greek  of  Athanasius,  which  is  as  follows.  TlaXiv  »';  Xvtit)  cicmopeverai  «"> 
t/V  Kapdiav  tov  dt'Oporov  tov  6l<\o\fijayTO;,  kcu  Xwrcirai  inl  rrj  npa^ct  avrov  ij  tnpa^tv,  Kail  pcravocl  5r. 
irovqpdv  eipyaoaro.  Avrrj  ovv  n  Xvt^  tWtf  ourr/plan  iWi  on  to  novripov  ^/>u(aj  fiinvdrj/rtv .  A/i</>orfipa' 
<5t  ruv  Trpa£tu)v  Xwrouat,  &C. 


220  Till-:   SHEPHERD   OF   BT.    HERMA8. 

and  sadness,  because  he  angered  the  holy  spirit.  "Remove,  therefore, 
sadness  from  thyself;  "and  afflict  not  the  holy  spirit  which  dwelleth  in 
thee,  lest  be'  entreat  God,  and  depart  from  thee.*  For  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  which  is  given  to  dwell  in  the  flesh,  endureth  no  such  sadness/ 
Wherefore  clothe  thyself  with  cheerfulness,  which  has  always  favour 
with  the  Lord,  and  thou  shall  rejoice  in  it.  For  every  cheerful  man 
does  well,  and  relishes  those  things  that  are  good,  and  despises  sad- 
ness/ But  the  sad  man  does  always  wickedly.  First,  he  doth  wick- 
edly,' because  he  grieveth  the  holy  spirit,  which  ia  given  to  man,  being 
of  a  cheerful  nature.  And  again  he  does  ill,  because  he  prays  with 
sadness  unto  the  Lord,  and  maketh  not  first  a  thankful  acknowledg- 
ment unto  him  of  former  mercies;  and  obtains  not  of  God  what  he 
asks.  For  the  prayer  of  a  sad  man  has  not  efficacy  to  come  up  to  the 
altar  of  God."  And  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  why  has  not  the  prayer 
of  a  sad  man  virtue  to  come  up  to  the  altar  of  God?"  "  Because," 
said  he,  "  that  sadness  remaineth  in  his  heart.  When,  therefore,  a 
man's  prayer  shall  be  accompanied  with  sadness,  it  will  not  suffer  his 
requests  to  ascend  pure  to  the  altar  of  God.  For  as  wine  when  it  is 
mingled  with  vinegar  has  not  the  sweetness  it  had  before;  so  sac 
being  mixed  with  the  holy  spirit,  suffers  not  a  man's  prayer  to  be  the 
same  thai  it  would  be  otherwise.  Wherefore  cleanse  myself  from  sad- 
ness, which  is  evil,  and  thou  shalt  live  unto  God.  And  all  others  shall 
live  unto  God,  as  many  as  shall  lay  aside  sadness,  and  put  on  cheer- 
fulness." 


a  Antio<  h.  Horn.  \w.  *  Or.  Mfc  8Xf0t.     M8.  Lamb.  Noli,  noecro.  c(ir. 

•      ..      Comp.   Rom.viL27.  d  Gr.  To  foziv  t is    rhv  tropica,  ravTrjv  \vrrr,t>  ovk 

v^wpcpti.  c(ir.  ■  / So  the  Greek:  i & Amcqpdt dy%>  «aViw»  novripcvcrm.    u^-rov 

H'.v   JTOi'rjwiVrrti,   Arc. 

•  When  Hernial  hereeoxth  of  the  holy  spirit,  that  hecntrcati  God,  and  before,  that  he 
ii  rexed  and  grieved  :  t..  prevent  anj  rniiftiifrft  in  ;i  matter  of  such  moment,  the  reader  may 
pleaae  to  observe,  that  he  ipeaketfa  not  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ai  He  ii  the  Bpiril  of  God,  and 
the  Third  Pereon  in  the  aaered  Trinity;  but  of  me  spirit  given  to  Christians,  which 
dwelleth  in  tlnir  s.mls  and  bodies,  being  an  emanation  <>r  gift  from  the  spirit  <»t  ( red ;  and 
thoogb  not  an  essentia]  part  of  man,  yet  i  perfecting  part  of  a  Christian;  which  Hennas 
bimseh* elsewhere  declareth  to  be  created  in  man,  lib.  iii.  cap.  v,  sac.  8.  Hut  thru  that  he 
thought  tbii  created  ipirit  of  regenerate  personsto  be  distinct  Gram,  though  a  participation 
of,  the  BpiritofGod,  is  plain  from  what  we  before  read  in  the  second  sectioa  of  thia  very 
command;  where  he dbtmguisheth  between  the  spirit  given  from  God,  :>n<l  thr  spirit  <'t' 
( red.    ■•  /"  "/  tpu ''."  si]  -  he,  *•  thai  it  g  l     /.  having  th>-  powtr  of  tht  /' 

■h>-  Spirit  <  j 
I  And  indeed  st.  Paul  himself  in  that  remarkable  place,  I  Cor.  n.  II,  IS,  men- 

tionetb  distinctly,  -•■■,.;  and  plainly  teaches  thai  this 

ii  in  God,  and  the  other  in  men,  although  from  <i"<l.     Now  when  Hennaaherespeaketh 
of  the  spirit's  entreating  t  red,  he  expressly  rpeaketb  of  the  spirit  which  dwelleth  in  u-.  and 
the  ipirit  which  is  given  1  •  •  dwell  in  the  Seat ;  not  of  the  spirit  as  he  is  in  God,  and  con- 
il\  nncreated,  and  (J'><1  himanlf    far  .til  that  is  in  God  is  such. 


HIS  COMMANDS.  221 


The  Eleventh  Command. 


That  the  spirits  and  prophets  are  to  be  tried  by  their  works  ;  and  of  a 

twofold  spirit. 

I.  He  showed  me  certain  men  sitting  upon  benches,  and  one  sitting 
in  a  chair :  and  he  said  unto  me,  "  Seest  thou  those  who  sit  upon  the 
benches?"  "Sir,"  said  I,  "I  see  them."  He  answered,  "They 
are  the  faithful ;  and  he  who  sits  in  the.  chair  is  an  earthly  spirit.  For 
he  cometh  not  into  the  assembly  of  the  faithful,"  but  avoids  it.  But 
he  joins  himself  to  the  doubtful  and  empty,  and  prophesies  to  them  in 
corners  and  hidden  places,  and  pleases  them  by  speaking  according  to 
all  the  desires  of  their  hearts.  For  he,  placing  himself  among  empty 
vessels,  is  not  broken,  but  the  one  fitteth  the  other.  But  when  he 
cometh  into  the  company  of  just  men,  who  are  full  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,"  and  they  pray  unto  the  Lord,  that  man  is  emptied,0  because  that 
earthly  spirit  flies  from  him,  and  he  is  dumb,  and  cannot  speak  any 
thing.  As  if  in  a  store-house  you  shall  stop  up  wine  or  oil,  and  among 
those  vessels  shall  place  an  empty  jar,  and  shall  afterwards  come  to 
open  it,  you  shall  find  it  empty  as  you  stopped  it  up,  so  those  empty 
prophets,  when  they  come  among  the  spirits  of  the  just,  are  found  to 
be  such  as  they  came."* 

II.  I  said,  "  How  then  shall  a  man  be  able  to  discern  them  ?" 
"  Consider  what  I  am  going  to  say  concerning  both  kinds  of  men  ;b 
and  as  I  speak  unto  thee,  so  shalt  thou  prove  the  prophet  of  God,  and 
the  false  prophet.  And  first,  try  the  man  who  hath  the  spirit  of  God  ; 
because  the  spirit  which  is  from  above  is  humble,  and  quiet,  and  de- 
parts from  all  wickedness,  and  from  the  vain  desires  of  the  present 
world,  and  makes  himself  more  humble  than  all  men,  and  answers  to 
none  when  he  is  asked,  nor  to  every  one  singly ;  for  the  Spirit  of  God 
doth  not  speak  to  a  man  when  he  will,  but  when  God  pleases.  When, 
therefore,  a  man  who  hath  the  spirit  of  God  shall  come  into  the  church 


*  Church  of  the  living.  b  Have  the  Spirit  of  God  in  them.  c  Exinanitur. 
d  Vessels. 

*  It  is  evident  from  the  method  of  Hermas's  discourse  in  this  place,  that  somewhat  is 
wanting  to  make  up  the  subject  of  it.  He  had  spoken  before  of  the  false  prophets,  and 
the  emptiness  of  their  preaching,  but  nothing  of  the  true  ones,  nor  any  thing  of  the  life 
and  works  of  either.  How  to  supply  this  I  have  been  admonished  by  my  learned  friend. 
Dr.  Grabe.  What  should  have  followed  here,  is  transposed  into  the  next  command ;  and 
liL-ing  brought  back  hither,  not  only  supplies  the  defect  of  this,  but  makes  way  for  the  more 
easy  connection  of  his  discourse  in  that.  And  for  this,  besides  the  plain  reason  of  the 
thing  itself,  we  have  the  authority  of  Athanasius  in  that  other  command,  who  leaves  out 
what  has  been  falsely  inserted  there,  as  I  shall  show  when  I  come  to  it,  from  his  own 
word3.  For  both  these  reasons,  I  have  reduced  both  places  to  what  I  take  to  have  been 
their  true  order ;  and  shall  submit  it  to  the  reader  to  judge,  upon  this  advertisement, 
whether  I  had  not  good  reason,  as  well  as  sufficient  authority,  so  to  do. 

t2 


222  THE    SHEPHERD    OE    ST.    HERMAS. 

of  the  righteous,  who  hath  the  faith  of  God,  and  they  pray  unto  the 
Lord  ;  then  the  holy  angel  of  God  fills  thai  man  with  the  Blessed  Spirit, 
and  he  speaks  in  the  COngn  -   lie    is  moved  of  God.     Thus, 

therefore,  is  the  spirit  of  (Sod  known,  whosoever  speaketh  by 

the  spirit  of  God,  Bpeaketh  as  the  Lord  will. 

III.  "Hear  now  concerning  the  earthly  spirit,  which  is  empty  and 
foolish,  and  without  virtue      \nd  first  of  all,  the  man  who  is  sup] 

re  the  spirit  (whereas  he  hath  it  not  in  reality)  exalteth  himself, 
and  desires  to  have  the  first  Beat,  and  is  wicked,  and  full  of  words, 
and  spends  his  time  in  pleasure,  and  in  all  manner  of  FoluptUOUSDess, 
and  receives  the  reward  of  his  divination,  which  if  he  receives  not,  he 
not  divi  should  the  spirit  of  God  receive  reward  and 

divine  ?"  "  It  doth  not  become  a  prophet  of  God  so  to  do.  Thus 
you  see  the  life  of  each  of  these  kind  of  prophets.  Wherefore  prove 
the  man  by  his  life  and  works,  who  says  that  he  hath  the  holy  spirit: 
and  believe  the  spirit  which  comes  from  God,  and  has  power  as  such. 
But  believe  not  the  earthly  and  empty  spirit,  which  is  from  the  devil, 
in  whom  there  is  no  faith  nor  virtue.  Hear  now  the  similitude  which 
I  am  about  to  speak  unto  thee.  Take  a  stone,  and  throw  it  up  towards 
heaven  ;  or  take  a  spout  of  water,  and  mount  it  up  thitherward,  and 
see  if  thou  canst  reach  unto  heaven."  "  Sir,"  said  I,  »  how  can  this 
be  done  ?  For  neither  of  those  things  which  you  have  mentioned  are 
:ile  to  be  done."  And  he  answered,  "Therefore,  as  these  things 
cannot  he  done,  so  is  the  earthly  spirit  without  virtue,  and  without 
Understand  yet  farther  the  power  which  corneth  from  above, 
in  this  similitude.  The  grains  of  hail  that  drop  down  are  exceeding 
small  ;  and  yet  when  they  fall  upon  the  head  of  a  man,  how  do  they 
Cause  pain  to  it?  And  again  ;  consider  the  droppings  of  a  house,  how 
the  little  drops  falling  upon  the  earth,  work  a  hollow  in  the  stones.  So 
in  like  manner  the  least  things  which  come  from  above,  and  fall  upon 
the  earth,  have  great  force.  Wherefore,  join  thyself  to  this  spirit, 
which  has  power,  and  depart  from  the  other,  which  is  empty." 

Tin:   Twi.i.i  i  ii    ( loMKAND. 

Of  a  two-fold  desire:  thai  the  commands  of  God  are  not  knpottSble  ; 
and  that  the  devil  is  not  to  be  feared  by  them  thai  believe. 

I.  Again  he  said  unto  me,  "Remove-  from  thee  all  evil  desires, 
and  put  on  good  and  Imly  <!-  sixi  s.     For  having  put  on  a  good  d( 
thou  shall  hate  that  which  is  evil,  and  bridle  it  as  thou  wilt.     But  an 

evil  desire  is  dreadful,  and  hard  U)  DC  tamed.      It  IS  very  horrible   and 

wild,  and  by  its  wildness  consumes  men  ;  and  especially  if  i  servant 


a  VkL  Antioch.  Horn.  Ixxiv. 


HIS   COMMANDS.  223 

of  God  shall  chance  to  fall  into  it,  except  he  be  very  wise,  he  is  ruined ' 
y  it.  For  it  destroys  those  who  have,  not  the  garment  of  a  good  de- 
sire, and  are  engaged  in  the  affairs  of  this  present  world,  and  delivers 
them  unto  death."6  *"Sir,"  said  I,  «  what  are  the  works  of  an  evil 
desire,  which  bring  men  unto  death  ?  Show  them  to  me,  that  I  may 
depart  from  them."  "Hear,"  said  he,  "by  what  works  an  evil 
desire  bringeth  the  servants  of  God  unto  death.  First  of  all,  it  is  an 
evil  desire  to  covet  another  man's  wife,  or  for  a  woman  to  covet 
another's  husband;  as  also  to  desire  the  dainties  of  riches,  and  multi- 
tude of  superfluous  meats,  and  drunkenness,  and  many  delights.  For 
in  much  delicacy  there  is  folly ;  and  many  pleasures  are  needless  to 
the  servants  of  God.  Such  lusting,  therefore,  is  evil  and  pernicious, 
which  brings  to  death  the  servants  of  God.  For  all  such  lusting  is 
from  the  devil.  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  depart  from  all  evil  de- 
sires shall  live  unto  God ;  but  they  that  are  subject  unto  them  shall  die 
for  ever.  For  this  evil  lusting  is  deadly.  Do  thou,  therefore,  put  on 
the  desire  of  righteousness,  and  being  armed  with  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
resist  all  wicked  lusting.  For  this  fear  dwelleth  in  good  desires  ;  and 
when  evil  coveting  shall  see  thee  armed  with  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
resisting  it,  it  will  fly  far  from  thee,  and  not  appear  before  thee,  but  be 
afraid  of  thy  armour  ;  and  thou  shalt  have  the  victory,  and  be  crowned 
for  it ;  and  shalt  attain  unto  that  desire  which  is  good,  and  shalt  give 
the  victory  which  thou  hast  obtained  unto  God,  and  shalt  serve  him  in 
doing  what  thou  thyself  wouldst  do.  For  if  thou  shalt  serve  good 
desires,  and  be  subject  to  them,  thou  shalt  be  able  to  get  the  dominion 
over  thy  wicked  lustings,  and  they  shall  be  subject  to  thee  as  thou 
wilt." 

III.  And  I  said,  «  Sir,  I  would  know7  how  to  serve  that  desire 
which  is  good."  «  Hearken  !"  said  he,  "  fear  God,  and  put  thy  trust 
in  him,  and  love  truth,  and  righteousness,  and  do  that  which  is  good. 
If  thou  shalt  do  these  things,  thou  shalt  be  an  approved  servant  of  God, 
and  shalt  serve  him :  and  all  others  who  shall  in  like  manner  serve  a 
good  desire  shall  live  unto  God."  And  when  he  had  finished  these 
twelve  commands,  he  said  unto  me,  "  Thou  hast  now  these  com- 
mands ;  walk  in  them,  and  exhort  those  that  hear  them  that  they  re- 
pent, and  that  they  keep  their  repentance  pure  all  the  remaining  days 


*  MS.    Lamb,    consumitur,  et   Gr.  Athanas.  Hmravarat.  b  ifinnhvp^uvvi  red  aiioi/i  tovt(;. 

Gr.  Athanas.     Instead  odmjilirat  cos,  the  Latin  vers,  should  be  implicatot. 

*  That  the  words  here  inserted,  and  removed  by  me  into  their  proper  place  in  the  fore- 
going command,  do  not  belong  to  this  discourse,  the  Greek  of  Athanasius  clearly  shows, 
in  which  they  are  all  omitted,  and  the  connection  lies  as  I  have  now  represented  it. 

Yloia,  Kipte,  eici  rfc  i^tdvfiiai  rrjs  xovrjfias,  ra  napadidovi'ra  rotij  difyi.'rrotij  tig  $iiraroi>;  yv  >  \nabv  pot, 
tva  ^vyu)  oltt  avrolv.  Akoucov.  Ylpwrov  iravrcjv  ini^rfiia  ywatKds,  ical  Tro\vrc\cia  i:\ovtov,  /cat 
iSeofic.Tuv  -n\\,oVj  &c.  And  so  the  Lamb.  MS.  Primum  omnium  ronrupiaceir  uxnrem 
alien  rm,     ZVot.  SpirUtU  omnium. 


224  THE   SHEPHERD  OF   ST.    HERMAS. 

of  their  life:  and  fulfil  diligently  this  ministry  which  I  commit  to 
Ihee,  and  thou  shaft  receive  great  advantage  by  it,  and  shaft  find  favour 
with  all  such  as  shall  repent,  and  shall  believe  thy  words.  For  I  am 
with  thee,  and  will  force  them  to  believe."  And  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir, 
these  Commands  are  great  and  excellent,  and  able  to  cheer  the  heart 
of  that  man  that  .shall  be  able  to  keep  them.  But,  Sir,  I  cannot  tell 
whether  they  can  be  observed  by  any  man?"  He  answered,  "Thou 
shaft  easily  keep  these  commands,  and  they  shall  not  be  hard;  how- 
beit,  if  thou  shall  suffer  it  once  to  enter  into  thy  heart  that  they  cannot 
be  kept  by  any  one,  thou  shaft  not  fulfil  them.  But  now  I  say  unto 
thee,  if  thou  shaft  not  observe  these  commands,  butshalt  neglect  them, 
thou  shalt  not  be  saved,  nor  thy  children,  nor  thy  house ;  because  thou 
hast  judged  that  these  commands  cannot  be  kept  by  man." 

IV.  These  things  he  spake  very  angrily  unto  me,  insomuch  that  he 
greatly  affrighted  me.  For  he  changed  his  countenance,  so  that  a  man 
could  not  bear  his  anger.  And  when  he  saw  me  altogether  troubled 
and  confounded,  he  began  to  speak  more  moderately  and  cheerfully, 
saying,  "0  foolish,  and  without  understanding!  Unconstant,  not 
knowing  the  majesty  of  God,  how  great  and  wonderful  he  is:  who 
created  the  world  for  man,  and  hath  made  every  creature  subject  unto 
him,  and  given  him  all  power,  that  he  should  be  able  to  fulfil"  all  these 
commands.  He  IS  able/1  said  he,  "to  fulfil  all  these  commands,  who 
has  the  Lord  in  his  heart:  but  they  who  have  the  Lord  only  in  their 
mouths,  and  their  heart  is  hardened,  and  they  are  far  from  the  Lord; 
to  such  persons  these  commands   are  hard  and  difficult.     Put,  there- 

.  ye  that  are  empty  and  light  in  the  faith,  the  Lord  your  God  in 
your  hearts,  and  ye  shall  perceive  how  that  nothing  is  more  easy  than 
these  commands,  nor  more  pleasant,  nor  more  gentle  and  holy:  ami 
turn  yourselves  to  the  Lord  your  God,  and  forsake  the  devil  and  his 
pleasures,  because  they  are  evil,  and  bitter,  and  impure.  Ami  fear 
not  the  devil,  because  he  has  no  power  over  you.  For  I  am  with  you, 
the  mi  Qtance,  who  have  the  dominion  over  him.     The 

devil  <loes  indeed  affright  men  ;  but  his  terror  is  vain.    Wherefbn 
him  not,  and  he  will  flee  from  you/' 

V.  And  I  said    unto   him,  "Sir,  hear   me    speak   a   lew  words  unto 

you."     lb    an  "Saj  on."     *«A  man  indeed  desires  to  keep 

the  commandments  of'  God  :  and  there  is  no  one  but  what  prays  unto 
God,  that  he  may  be  able  t*>  keep  his  commandments.  But  the  devil 
is  hard,  aid  bj  his  pOWei  rules  over  the  servants  of  God."  And  lit 
said,  "  lb-  cannot  nil-'  over  the  servants  of  d'od,  who  trust  in  him  with 
all  their  hearts.'    The  devil  ma)  strive,  but  he  cannot  overcome  them. 

For  it  ye  II  aisi  him,  he  will  flee  away  With  confusion  from  yon.      But 


•  l't  doiniiu'tur.  b  J  i  h 


HIS   COMMANDS.  225 

they  that  are  not  full  in  the  faith,  fear  the  devil,  as  if  he  had  some  great 
power.  For  the  devil  tries  the  servants  of  God ;  and  if  he  finds  them 
empty,  he  destroys  them.  For  as  a  man,  when  he  fills  up  vessels  with 
good  wine,"  and  among  them  puts  a  few  vessels  half  full,  and  comes  to 
try  and  taste  of  the  vessels,  does  not  try  those  that  are  full,  because  he 
knows  that  they  are  good,  but  tastes  those  that  are  half  full,  lest  they 
should  grow  sour,  (for  vessels  half  full  soon  grow  sour,  and  lose  the 
taste  of  wine,)  so  the  devil  comes  to  the  servants  of  God  to  try  them. 
They  that  are  full  of  faith  resist  him  stoutly,  and  he  departs  from  them, 
because  he  finds  no  place  where  to  enter  into  them ;  then  he  goes  to 
those  that  are  not  full  of  faith,  and  because  he  has  place  of  entrance, 
he  goes  into  them,  and  does  what  he  will  with  them,  and  they  become 
his  servants. 

VI.  "But  I,  the  messenger b  of  repentance,  say  unto  you,  fear  not 
the  devil ;  for  I  am  sent  unto  you,  that  I  may  be  with  you,  as  many  as 
shall  repent  with  your  whole  heart,  and  that  I  may  confirm  you  in  the 
faith.  c  Believe,  therefore,  ye  who  by  reason  of  your  transgressions 
have  forgot  God,  and  your  own  salvation ; d  e  and  adding  to  your  sins 
have  made  your  life  very  heavy ;  that  if  ye  shall  turn  to  the  Lord  with 
your  whole  hearts,  and  shall  serve  him  according  to  his  will,  he  will 
heal  you  of  your  former  sins,  and  ye  shall  have  dominion  over  all  the 
works  of  the  devil.  Be  not  then  afraid  in  the  least  of  his  threatenings, 
for  they  are  without  force,  as  the  nerves  of  a  dead  man.  But  hearken 
unto  me,  and  fear  the  Lord  Almighty,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to 
destroy  you ;  and  keep  his  commands,  that  ye  may  live  unto  God." 
And  I  said  unto  him,  "Sir,  I  am  now  confirmed  in  all  the  commands 
of  the  Lord  whilst  that  you  are  with  me ;  and  I  know  that  you  will 
break  all  the  power  of  the  devil.  And  we  also  shall  overcome  him, 
if  we  shall  be  able,  through  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  keep  these  com- 
mands which  you  have  delivered."  "Thou  shalt  keep  them,"  said 
he,  "if  thou  shalt  purify  thy  heart  towards  the  Lord.  And  all  they 
also  shall  keep  them  who  shall  cleanse  their  hearts  from  the  vain  desires 
of  the  present  world,  and  shall  live  unto  God." 

a  Origen.  in  Matt  xxiv.  42.         b  Angel.         e  Vid.  Antioch.  Horn,  lxxvii.  d  MS. 

Lamb.  Qui  obliti  estis  Deum,  et  salutem  vestram.  '  What  follows  should  be  corrected 

thus:  Et  qui  adjicientes peccatis  vestris  gravatis  vitam  vestram. 


~(J 


THE 

THIRD  BOOK  OF  ST.  .IIERMAS, 


WHICH    IS    CALLED 


HIS  SIMILITUDES. 


Similitude  I. 

That  seeing  we  have  no  abiding  city  in  this  ivorld,  we  ought  to  look  after 
that  which  is  to  come. 

And  he  said  unto  me,  "«  Ye  know  that  ye  who  are  the  servants  of 
the  Lord,  live  here  as  in  a  pilgrimage  ;  for  your  city  is  far  ofTfrom  this 
rity.  If,  therefore,  ye  know  your  city  in  which  ye  are  to  dwell,  why 
do  you  here  buy  estates,  and  provide  yourselves  with  delicacies,  and 
stately  buildings,  and  superfluous  houses?  For  he  that  provides  him- 
self these  things  in  this  city,  does  not  think  of  returrfing  into  his  own 
city.  O  foolish,  and  doubtful,  and  wretched  man!  who  understandest 
not  that  all  these  things  belong  to  other  men,  and  are  under  the  power 
of  another!  For  the  Lord  of  this  city  saith  unto  thee,  -  Ether  obey 
my  laws,  or  depart  out  of  my  city.'  What,  therefore,  shalt  thou  do, 
who  are  subject  to  a  law  in  thine  own  city  ?  Canst  thou  for  thy  es 
or  for  any  of  those  things  which  thou  hast  provided,  deny  thy  law? 
But  if  thou  shalt  deny  it,  and  wilt  afterwards  return  into  thy  own  city, 
thou  shalt  not  be  received,  but  shalt  be  exclude  d  thence.  See,  there- 
fore, that  like  a  man  in  another  country,  thou  procure  no  more  to  thy- 
■elf  than  what  i^  necessary  and  sufficient  for  thee;  and  he  ready,  that 
when  the  God  or  Lord  of  this  <  •  i  t  \  shall  drive  thee  out  of  it,  thou;. 
ippose  his  law,  and  <_r<>  into  thine  own  city,  where  thou  mayst,  with 
all  cheerfulness,  live  according  to  thine  own  law  without  wrong.  Take 
heed,  therefore,  ye  that  serve  God,  and  have  him  in  your  hearts:  work 

ye  the  works  ofGod,  being  mindful  both  of  his   commands  and  of  his 

promises,  which  he  lias  promised  ;  and  be  assured  that  he  will  make 
them  good  unto  you,  if  ye  shall  keep  his  commandments.     Inst 


«  Ahtk'rh.  Horn.  XV. 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  227 

therefore,  of  the  possessions  that  ye  would  otherwise  purchase,  redeem 
those*  that  are  in  want  from  their  necessities,  as  every  one  is  able; 
justify  the  widows,  judge  the  cause  of  the  fatherless,  and  spend  your 
riches  and  your  wealth  in  such  works  as  these.  For,  for  this  end  has 
God  enriched  you,  that  ye  might  fulfil  these  kind  of  services.  It  is 
much  better  to  do  this  than  to  buy  lands  or  houses,  because  all  such 
things  shall  perish  with  this  present  time.  But  what  ye  shall  do  for 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  ye  shall  find  in  your  city,  and  shall  have  joy 
without  sadness  or  fear.  Wherefore  covet  not  the  riches  of  the 
heathen  ;  for  they  are  destructive  to  the  servants  of  God.  "But  trade 
with  your  own  riches  which  you  possess,  by  which  ye  may  attain  unto 
everlasting  joy.  And  do  not  commit  adultery,  nor  touch  any  other 
man's  wife,  nor  desire  her ;  but  covet  that  which  is  thy  own  business, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 


The  Second  Similitude. 

As  the  vine  is  supported  by  the  elm,  so  is  the  rich  man  helped  by  the 
prayers  of  the  poor. 

As  I  was  walking  into  the  field,  and  considered  the  elm  and  the 
vine,  and  thought  with  myself  of  their  fruits,  an  angel  appeared  unto 
me,  and  said  unto  me,  "  What  is  it  that  thou  thinkest  upon  thus  long 
within  thyself?"  And  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  I  think  of  this  vine  and 
this  elm,  because  their  fruits  are  fair."  And  he  said  unto  me,  "  These c 
two  trees  are  set  for  a  pattern  to  the  servants  of  God."  And  I  said 
unto  him,  "  Sir,  I  would  know  in  what  the  pattern  of  these  trees 
which  thou  mentionest,  does  consist."  "  Hearken  !"  saith  he,  "  seest 
thou  this  vine  and  this  elm  ?"  "  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  see  them."  "  This 
vine,"  saith  he,  "  is  fruitful,  but  the  elm  is  a  tree  without  fruit.  Never- 
theless this  vine,  unless  it  were  set  by  this  elm,  and  supported  by  it, 
would  not  bear  much  fruit,  but  lying  along  upon  the  ground,  would 
bear  but  ill  fruit,  because  it  did  not  hang  upon  the  elm :  whereas  now 
being  supported  upon  the  elm,  it  bears  fruit  both  for  itself,  and  for 
that.  See,  therefore,  how  the  elm  gives  no  less,  but  rather  more  fruit, 
than  the  vine  ?"  «  How,  Sir,"  said  I,  "  does  it  bear  more  fruit  than 
the  vine?"  "Because,"  said  he,  "the  vine  being  supported  upon 
the  elm,  gives  both  much  and  good  fruit ;  whereas  if  it  lay  along  upon 
the  ground,  it  would  bear  but  little,  and  that  very  ill  too.  This  simi- 
litude, therefore,  is  set  forth  to  the  servants  of  God  ;  and  it  represents 
the  rich  and  poor  man."  I  answered,  "  Sir,  make  this  manifest  unto 
me."     «  Hear!"  said  he,  "  the  rich  man  has  wealth  ;  howbeit  towards 

a  Souls.  *  MS.  Lambeth. —  Pro}>ri<tt;  autem  qwu  Jmir'is agitt.  c  VUL  Origen. 

n  Jos.  Horn.  x. 


228  THE    SHEPHERD   OF    ST.    HE  R  MAS. 

the  Lord  he  is  poor;  for  he  is  taken  up"  about  his  riches,  and  prays 
but  little  to  the  Lord,  and  the  prayers  which  he  makes  are  lazy  and 
without  force.  When,  therefore,  the  rich  man  readies  out  to  the  poor 
those  things  which  he  wants,  the  pen  man  prays  unto  the  Lord  for  the 
rich;  and  God  grants  unto  the  rich  man  all  good  things,  because  the 
poor  man  is  rich  in  prayer;  and  his  requests  have  great  power  with  the 

Lord.  Then  the  rich  man  ministers  all  things  to  the  poor,  because  b 
perceives  that  he  is  heard  by  the  Lord  ;  and  he  the  more  willingly,  and 
without  doubting,  affords  him  what  he  wants,  and  takes  care  that  no- 
thing be  lacking  to  him.  And  the  poor  man  gives  thanks  unto  the 
Lord  for  the  rich,  because  they  do  both  their  work  from  the  Lord. 
With  men,  therefore,  the  elm  is  not  thought  to  give  any  fruit;  and  they 
know  not,  neither  understand  that  its  company  being  added  to  the 
vine,  the  vine  bears  a  double  increase,  both  for  itself  and  for  the  elm. 
Even  so  the  poor  praying  unto  the  Lord  for  the  rich,  are  heard  by  him  ; 
and  their  riches  are  increased,  because  they  minister  to  the  poor  of 
their  wealth.  They  are,  therefore,  both  made  partakers  of  each  other's 
good  works.  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  do  these  tilings,  he  shall 
not  be  forsaken  by  the  Lord,  but  shall  be  written  in  the  book  of  life. 
Happy  are  they  that  are  rich,  and  perceive  themselves  to  be  increased  ; 
for  he  that  is  sensible  of  this,  will  be  able  to  minister  somewhat  to 

The  Third  Similitude. 

.  Is  the  green  trees  in   winter  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  dry,  so 
tihar  can  the  righteous  from  the  wicked  in  this  present  world. 

Again  he  showed  me  many  trees  whose  leaves  were  shed,  ant! 
which  seemed  to  me  to  be  withered,  for  they  were  all  alike.  And  la- 
said  unto  me,  "  Seest  thou  these  trees?"  I  said,  "  Sir,  I  see  that  the) 
look  like  dry  trees."  He  answering,  said  unto  me,  "These  trees  are 
like  unto  the  men  who  live  in  this  present  world/1     I  replied,  •■  N 

why  are  they  like  unto  dry  trees?"  "Because,"  Said  he,  "neither 
the  righteous  nor  unrighteous  are  known  from  one  another,  but  are  all 
alike   in   this  present   world.      For  this  world   is  as  the  winter  to  the 

righteous  men,  because  the)  are"  not  known,  but  dwell  among  sin- 
ners. As  in  the  winter  all  the  trees,  having  LosJ  their  leaves,  are  like 
dry  trrrs,  nor  can  it  !><•  discerned  which  are  i\\\  ami  which  are  green; 
BO  in  this  present  world,  neither  tic  righteOUS,  nor  wicked,  are  dis- 
cerned from  each  other,  but  tiny  arc  alike. 

•  Distrartid.  b  Who  art. 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  229 


The  Fourth  Similitude. 


As  in  summer  the  living  trees  are  distinguished  from  the  dry  by  their 
fruit  and  green  leaves,  so  in  the  world  to  come,  the  righteous  shall  be 
distinguished  from  the  unrighteous  by  their  happiness. 

Again  he  showed  me  many  other  trees,  of  which  some  had  leaves, 
and  others  appeared  dry  and  withered.  And  he  said  unto  me,  "  Seest 
thou  these  trees?"  I  answered,  "  Sir,  I  see  them ;  and  some  are  dry, 
and  others  full  of  leaves."  "  These  trees,"  saith  he,  «  which  are  green 
are  the  righteous,  who  shall  possess  the  world  to  come.  For  the  world 
to  come  is  the  summer  to  the  righteous ;  but  to  sinners  it  is  the  winter. 
When,  therefore,  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  shall  shine  forth,  then  they 
who  serve  God  shall  be  made  manifest  and  plain  unto  all.  For  as  in 
the  summer  the  fruit  of  every  tree  is  shown  and  made  manifest,  so  also 
the  works  of  the  righteous  shall  be  declared  and  made  manifest,  and 
they  shall  all  be  restored  in  that  world  merry  and  joyful.  For  the  other 
kind  of  men,a  namely,  the  wicked,  like  the  trees  which  thou  sawest 
dry,  shall  as  such  be  found  dry,  and  without  fruit  in  that  other  world, 
and  like  dry  wood  shall  be  burnt ;  and  it  shall  be  made  manifest  that 
they  have  done  evil  all  the  time  of  their  life ;  and  they  shall  be  burnt, 
because  they  have  sinned,  and  have  not  repented  of  their  sins.  And 
also  all  the  other  nations  shall  be  burnt,  because  they  have  not  acknow- 
ledged God  their  Creator.  Do  thou,  therefore,  bring  forth  good  fruit, 
that  in  the  summer  thy  fruit  may  be  known ;  and  keep  thyself  from 
much  business,  and  thou  shalt  not  offend.  For  they  who  are  involved 
in  much  business,  sin  much ;  because  they  are  taken  up  with  their 
affairs,  and  serve  not  God.  And  how  can  a  man  that  does  not  serve 
God,  ask  any  thing  of  God,  and  receive  it  ?  But  they  who  serve  him 
ask,  and  receive  what  they  desire.  But  if  a  man  has  only  one  thing  to 
follow,  he  may  serve  God ;  because  his  mind  is  not  taken  off  from 
God,  but  he  serves  him  with  a  pure  mind.  If,  therefore,  thou  shalt  do 
this,  thou  mayest  have  fruit  in  the  world  to  come ;  and  all,  as  many  as 
shall  do  in  like  manner,  shall  bring  forth  fruit." 

a  Nations. 


u 


230  THE   SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

Tin.  i'n  in  Similitude. 
Of  a  true  fast ,  and  the  rewards  of it :    also  of  the  cleanness  of  the  body 

I.  As  I  was  fasting,  and  sitting  down  in  a  certain  mountain,  am 
giving  tli. mks  nnt<»  God  lor  all  the  things  that  he  had  done  unto  me," 
behold  I  saw  the  shepherd  who  was  wont  to  convene  with  me,  sitting 
by  me,  and  saying  unto  me,  "  What  has  brought  thee  hither  thus  earl) 

in  the  morning?"  I  answered,  "Sir,  to-day  I  keep  a  station."5  He 
answered,  "  What  is  a  station?"  I  replied,  "It  is  a  fast."  He  said, 
"What  is  that  fast?"  I  answered,  " I  fast  as  I  have  been  wont  to 
«  Ye  know  not,"  said  he,  »  what  it  is  to  fast  unto  God ;  nor  is 
this  a  fast  which  ye  fast,  profiting  nothing  with  God."  "Sir,"  said  I, 
"  what  makes  you  speak  thus  ?"  He  replied,  "  I  speak  it  because  this 
is  not  the  true  fast  which  you  think  that  you  fast ;  but  I  will  show  you 
what  that  is  which  is  a  complete  fast,0  and  acceptable  unto  God. 
Hearken  !M  said  he,  "the  Lord  does  not  desire  such  a  needless  fast  : 
for  by  fasting  in  this  manner,  thou  advancest  nothing  in  righteous. 
But  the  true  fast  is  this;d  do  nothing  wickedly  in  thy  life,  but  serve 
God  with  a  pure  mind,  and  keep  his  commandments,  and  walk  accord- 
ing to  his  pier,  pis,  noi  Miller  any  wicked  desire  to  enter  into  thy  mind. 
But  trust  in  the  Lord,  that  if  thou  dost  these  things,  and  fearest  him, 
and  abstained  from  every  evil  work,  thou  shah  live  unto  God.  If  thou 
Shalt  do  this,  thou  shalt  perfect  a  great  last,  and  an  acceptable  one  unto 
the  Lord. 

II.  "Hearken  unto  the  similitude  which  I  am  about  to  propose  unto 
thee,  as  to  this  matter.     A  certain  man  having  a  farm,  and  many  ser- 

3,  planted  a  vinej  trd  in  a  certain  part  of  his  estate  for  his  posti  :r\  . 
and  taking  a  journey  into  a  far  country,  chose  one  of  his  servants  which 
he  thought  the  most  faithful  and  approved,  and  delivered  the  vineyard 
into  his  care,  commanding  him  that  he  should  .stake  up  his  \ines,  which 

if  he  did,  and  fulfilled  his  command,  he  promised  to  give  him  his 

liberty.     Nor  did  he  command  him  to  do  an\  thing  more,  and  so  went 
into  a  far  COUntiy.      After  then  that  th.it  servant   had  taken  that  CD 
Upon  him,  he  did  whatsoever  his  lord  commanded  him:    and  when  lie 
had  slaked  die  \  in«\  ;ntl,  am!  found  it  to  be  full  of  Weeds,  he  began  t" 
think  with   himself,  Baying,    1    have    done  what    my    lord    commanded 

me;  I  will  now  dig  this  vineyard,  and  when  it  is  digged  it  will  be 
more  beautiful ;  and  the  weeds  being  pulled  tip,  it  will  bring  forth 

more  fruit,  and    not   be    clinked    by  the  weeds.      So    Betting    about   his 
Work,  he  dieted  it,  and  plucked  up  all  the  weeds  that  were  in  it  : 

a  U'nh  m,.         i  \  id.  .\,.i.  Catalan  in  loc  p.  .-.  ,  •<.        c  Cotolnr  ituJ.       d  . 
- trmm  i«j*mmm  tclt. —  I. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  231 

so  the  vineyard  became  very  beautiful  and  prosperous,  not  being  choked 
with  weeds.  After  some  time  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  comes,  and 
goes  into  the  vineyard;  and  when  he  saw  that  it  was  handsomely 
staked,  and  digged,  and  the  weeds  plucked  up  that  were  in  it,  and 
the  vines  flourishing,  he  rejoiced  greatly  at  the  care  of  his  servant :  and 
calling  his  son,  whom  he  loved,  and  who  was  to  be  his  heir,  and  his 
friends  with  whom  he  was  wont  to  consult,  he  tells  them  what  he  had 
commanded  his  servant  to  do,  and  what  his  servant  had  done  more : 
and  they  immediately  congratulated  that  servant,  that  he  had  received 
so  full  a  testimony"  from  his  lord.  Then  he  said  unto  them,  I,  indeed, 
promised  this  servant  his  liberty,  if  he  observed  the  command  which  I 
gave  him:  and  he  observed  it,  and  besides  he  has  done  a  good  work 
to  my  vineyard,  which  has  exceedingly  pleased  me.  Wherefore  for 
this  wrork  which  he  hath  done,  I  will  make  him  my  heir  together  with 
my  son ;  because  that  when  he  saw  what  was  good,  he  neglected  it 
not,  but  did  it.  This  design  of  the  lord  both  his  son  and  his  friends 
approved,  namely,  that  his  servant  should  be  heir  together  with  his 
son.  Not  long  after  this,  the  master  of  the  family  calling  together  his 
friends,  sent  from  his  supper  several  kinds  of  food  to  that  servant. 
Which  when  he  had  received,  he  took  so  much  of  them  as  was  suffi- 
cient for  himself,  and  divided  the  rest  among  his  fellow-servants ; 
which,  when  they  had  received,  they  rejoiced,  and  wished  that  he 
might  find  yet  greater  favour  with  his  lord  for  what  he  had  done  to 
them.  When  his  lord  heard  all  these  things,  he  was  again  filled  with 
great  joy,  and  calling  again  his  friends  and  his  son  together,  he  related 
to  them  what  his  servant  had  done  with  the  meats  which  he  had  sent 
unto  him.  They,  therefore,  so  much  the  more  assented  to  the  master 
of  the  household,  that  he  ought  to  make  that  servant  his  heir  together 
with  his  son." 

III.  I  said  unto  him,  «  Sir,  I  know  not  these  similitudes,  neither 
can  I  understand  them,  unless  you  expound  them  unto  me."  «  I 
will,"  says  he,  "  expound  all  things  unto  thee  whatsoever  I  have 
talked  with  thee,  or  shown  unto  thee.  Keep  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  be  approved,  and  shalt  be  written  in  the  num- 
ber of  those  that  keep  his  commandments.  But  if  besides  those  things 
which  the  Lord  hath  commanded,  thou  shalt  add  some  good  thing, 
thou  shalt  purchase  to  thyself  a  greater  dignity,  and  be  in  more  favour 
with  the  Lord  than  thou  shouldst  otherwise  have  been.  If,  therefore, 
thou  shalt  keep  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and  shalt  add  to  them 
these  stations,  thou  shalt  rejoice ;  but  especially  if  thou  shalt  keep  them 
according  to  my  commands."  I  said  unto  him,  "Sir,  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  command  me,  )  will  observe ;  for  I  know  that  thou  wilt  be 

a  Just  a  commendation. 


232  THE   SHEPHERD   OF   BT.    BERMA& 

with  me."  "I  will,"  said  he,  "be  with  thee,  who  hast  taken  up 
.such  B  resolution  ;  and  I  will  be  with  all  those  who  purpose  in  like 
manner.  This  fait,"  saith  he,  "whilst  thou  dost  also  observe  the 
commandments  of  the  Lord,  is  i  ic<  e  ling  good.     Thus,  therefore,  shah 

thou  keep  it.  First  of  all,  take  heed  to  thyself,  and  keep  thyself  from 
every  wicked"  act,  and  from  every  filthy  word,  and  from  every  hurtful 
desire;  and  purify  thy  mind  from  all  the  vanity  of  this  present  world. 
If  thou  shalt  observe  these  things,  this  fast  shall  lie  right  Thus,  there- 
fore, do.  Having  performed  what  is  before  written,  that  day  on  which 
thou  fastest  thou  shalt  taste  nothing  at  all  but  *  bread  and  water;  cand 
computing  the  quantity  of  food  which  thou  art  wont  to  eat  upon  other 
daj  -.  thou  .shalt"  lay  aside  the  expense  which  thou  shouldst  have  made 
that  day,  and  give  it  unto  the  widow,  the  fatherless,  and  the  poor. 
And  thus4  thou  shalt  perfect  the  humiliation  of  thy  soul,  that  he  who 
receives  of  it  may  satisfy  his  soul,  and  his  prayer  come  up  to  the  Lord 
God  for  thee.  If,  therefore,  thou  shalt  thus  accomplish  thy  fast,  as  I 
command  thee,  thy  sacrifice  shall  be  acceptable  unto  the  Lord,  and  thy 
fast  shall  be  written  in  his  book.  This  station,  thus  performed,  is  good, 
and  pleasing,  and  acceptable  unto  the  Lord.  These  tilings,  if  thou 
shalt  observe  with  thy  children,  and  with  all  thy  house,  thou  shalt  be 
happy.  And  whosoever  when  they  hear  these  things  shall  do  them, 
they  also  shall  be  happy;  and  whatsoever  they  shall  ask  of  the  Lord 
they  shall  receive  it." 

IV.  And  I  prayed  him  that  he  would  expound  unto  me  the  simili- 
tude of  the  farm,  and  the  lord,  and  of  the  vineyard,  and  of  the  servant 
that  had  staked  the  vineyard,  and  of  the  weeds  that  were  plucked  out 
of  the  vineyard,  and  of  his  son,  and  his  friends  which  he  took  into 
counsel  with  him.  For  I  understood  that  that  was  a  similitude.  He 
said  unto  me,  ((Thou  art  very  bold  in  asking;  for  thou  oughtest  not 
k  any  thing;  because  if  it  be  fitting  to  show  it  unto  thee,  it  shall 
be  showed  unto  thee."  I  answered  him,  «  Sir,  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
show  me,  without  explaining  it  unto  me,  I  shall  in  vain  see  it  if  I  do 
not  understand  what  it  is.  And  if  thou  shalt  propose  any  similitudes, 
and  not  expound  them,  I  shall  in  vain  hear  them."      He  answered  me 

again,  saying,  ((Whosoever  is  the  servant  of  God,  ami  has  the  I 

in  his  heart,  he  desires  understanding  of  him,  and  receives  it  ;  and  he 

explains  every  similitude,  and  understands  the  words  <^  the  Lord  which 

need  an  inquiry.      Bui    they  that    are  la/v  and   slow  to   prav,  doubt   to 

seek  from  the  Lord;  although  the  Lord  be  of  such  an  extraordinary 

goodness,  that  without  ceasing  he  giveth  all  things  to  them  that  ask  ^( 
him.     Thou,  therefore,  who  art  strengthened  by  that  venerable  mes- 


aShnrw/~ul,  or  i  ,  Vr.  n.  &   ,  I,  A.  15.  < '.  '  \"ul 

\nfi.H-h.  H<m.  \ii  *  \  i,].  Mot  Cotrl.r.  lit  Mipra. 


HIS    SIMILITUDES.  233 

senger,  and  hast  received  such  a  powerful  gift  of  prayer,  seeing  thou 
art  not  slothful,  why  dost  thou  not  now  ask  understanding  of  the  Lord, 
and  receive  it?"  I  said  unto  him,  "  Seeing  I  have  thee  present,  it  is 
necessary  that  I  should  seek  it  of  thee,  and  ask  thee ;  for  thou  showest 
all  things  unto  me,  and  speakest  to  me  when  thou  art  present.  But  if 
I  should  see  or  hear  these  things  when  thou  wert  not  present,  I  would 
then  ask  the  Lord  that  he  would  show  them  unto  me." 

V.  And  he  replied,  "  I  said  a  little  before  that  thou  wert  subtle  and 
bold,  in  that  thou  askest  the  meaning  of  these  similitudes.  But  be- 
cause thou  still  persistest,  I  will  unfold  to  thee  this  parable  which  thou 
desirest,  that  thou  mayest  make  it  known  unto  all  men.  Hear,  there- 
fore," said  he,  "  and  understand.  The  farm  before  mentioned  denotes 
the  whole  earth.  The  lord  of  the  farm  is  He  who  created  and  finished 
all  things,  and  gave  virtue  unto  them.  His  son  is  the  Holy  Spirit :  the 
servant  is  the  Son  of  God  :  the  vineyard  is  the  people  whom  he  saves. 
The  stakes  are  the  messengers"  which  are  set  over  them  by  the  Lord, 
to  support  his  people.  The  weeds  that  are  plucked  up  out  of  the 
vineyard,  are  the  sins  which  the  servants  of  God  had  committed.  The 
food  which  he  sent  him  from  his  supper,  are  the  commands  which  he 
gave  to  his  people  by  his  son.  The  friends  whom  he  called  to  counsel 
with  him,  are  the  holy  angels  whom  he  first  created.  The  absence  of 
the  master  of  the  household,  is  the  time  that  remains  unto  his  coming." 
I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  all  these  things  are  very  excellent,  and  won- 
derful, and  good.  But,"  continued  I,  "  could  I,  or  any  other  man 
besides,  though  never  so  wise,  have  understood  these  things  ?  Where- 
fore now,  Sir,  tell  me  what  I  ask."  He  replied,  "Ask  me  what  thou 
wilt."  "  Why,"  said  I,  "  is  the  Son  of  God,  in  this  parable,  put  in 
the  place  of  a  servant?" 

VI.  "  Hearken,"  said  he  ;  "  The  Son  of  God  is  not  put  in  the  con- 
dition of  a  servant,  but  in  great  power  and  authority."  I  said  unto 
him,  "How,  Sir?  I  understand  it  not."  "Because,"  said  he,  "the 
Son  set  his  messengers"  over  those  whom  the  Father  delivered  unto 
him,  to  keep  every  one  of  them ;  but  he  himself  laboured  very  much, 
and  suffered  much,  that  he  might  blot  out  their  offences.  For  no  vine- 
yard can  be  digged  without  much  labour  and  pains.  Wherefore 
having  blotted  out  the  sins  of  his  people,  he  showed  to  them  the  paths 
of  life,  giving  them  the  law  which  he  had  received  of  the  Father. 
You  see,"  said  he,  "  that  he  is  the  Lord  of  his  people,  having  received 
all  power  from  his  Father.     *But  why  the  Lord  did  take  his  Son  into 

a  Jlngcls. 

*  This  place,  which  in  all  the  editions  of  Hennas  is  wretchedly  corrupted,  by  the 
collation  of  editions  and  MSS.  is  thus  corrected,  by  our  very  learned  Dr.  Grabe  :  Quare 
autem  Dominies  in  consilio  adhibucrit,  Filium  de  hrrreditate,  honestosque  nuncios,  audi. 
Spiritum  sanctum,  qui  creatus  est  omnium  primus,  in  corpore,  in  quo  habitant  Dcus,  collo- 
cavit ;  in  delecto,  sti.  corpore  quod  ci  videbatur. 

30  u2 


234  THE  SHEPHERD  OF   ST.  HERMA8. 

counsel,  about  dividing  the  inheritance,  and  the  good  angels,  hear 
now:  that  holy  spirit'  which  was  created  Brat  of  all,  he  placed  in  the 
body  in  which  God  should  dwell;  namely,  in  a  chosen  body,  as  it 
seemed  good  to  him.  This  body  therefore  into  which  the  holy  spirit J 
was  brought,  served  that  spirit,  walking  rightly  and  purely  in  modesty. 
nor  ever  defiled  thai  spirit.  Seeing,  therefore,  the  body  at  all  times 
obeyed  the  holy  spirit,  and  laboured  rightly  and  chastely  with  him,  nor 
faltered  at  any  time — that  body,  being  wearied,  conversed  indeed  ser- 
nlely— but  being  mightily  approved  to  God  with  the  holy  spirit,  was 
accepted  by  him.  For  such  a  stout  course  pleased  God,  because  he 
was  not  defiled  in  the  earth,  keeping  the  holy  spirit.  He  called,  there- 
fore, to  counsel,  his  Son  and  the  good  angels,  that  there  might  be  some 
place  of  standing  given  to  this  body,  which  had  served  the  holy  spirit 
without  blame ;  lest  it  should  seem  to  have  lost  the  reward  of  its  ser- 
vice :  for  every  pure  body  shall  receive  its  reward,  that  is  found  with- 
out spot,  in  which  the  holy  spirit  has  been  appointed  to  dwell.  And 
thus  you  have  now  the  exposition  of  this  parable  also." 

VII.  "  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  now  understand  your  meaning,  since  I  have 
heard  this  exposition."  "  Hearken  farther,"  said  he  ;  "  keep  this  thy 
body  clean  and  pure,  that  the  spirit  which  shall  dwell  in  it  may  bear 
witness  unto  it,  and  be  judged  to  have  been  with  thee.  Also  take  heed 
that  it  be  not  instilled  into  thy  mind,  that  this  body  perishes,  and  thou 
abuse  it  to  any  lust.  For  if  thou  shalt  d^iWe  thy  body,  thou  shalt  also 
at  the  same  time  defile  the  holy  spirit ;  and  if  thou  shalt  defde  the  In- 
spirit* thou  shalt  not  live."  And  I  said,  "  What  if  through  ignorance 
this  should  have  been  already  committed,  before  a  man  heard  these 
words ;  how  can  he  attain  unto  salvation,  who  has  thus  defded  his 
body?"  He  replied,  "As  for  men's  former  actions,  which  through 
ignorance  they  have  committed,  God  only  can  afford  a  remedy  unto 
them  ;  for  all  power  belongeth  unto  him.  Hut  now  guard  thyself;  and 
seeing  God  is  almighty  and  merciful,  he  will  grant  a  remedy  to  what 
thou  hast  formerly  dune  amiss,  it",  for  the  time  to  come,  thou  shalt  not 
defde  thy  body  and  spirit  ;  lor  they  are  companions  together,  and  the 
one  cannot  be  defiled,  but  the  other  will  be  so  too.  Keep,  therefore, 
both  of  them  pure,  and  thou  shalt  live  unto  God." 

•  Viz.  The  created  spirit  of  Chriet,  m  man  ;  nut  the  Holy  Ghoet,  the  UiirJ  Person  of 
the  nerad  Trinity.        b  Thy  bodyt  according  t<>  tome  oo| 


HIS    SIMILITUDES.  235 


The  Sixth  Similitude. 


Of  two  sorts  of  voluptuous  men,  and  of  their  death,  defection,  and  of  the 
continuance  of  their  pains. 

I.  As  I  was  sitting  at  home,  and  praising  God  for  all  the  things  which 
I  had  seen,  and  was  thinking  concerning  the  commands,  that  they 
were  exceeding  good,  and  great,  and  honest,  and  pleasant,  and  such 
as  were  able  to  bring  a  man  to  salvation,  I  said  thus  within  myself,  "I 
shall  be  happy  if  I  shall  walk  according  to  these  commands ;  and  who- 
soever shall  walk  in  them  shall  live  unto  God."  Whilst  I  was  speaking 
on  this  wise  within  myself,  I  saw  him  whom  I  had  before  been  wont 
to  see,  sitting  by  me  ;  and  he  spake  thus  unto  me  :  "  What  doubtest 
thou  concerning  my  commands,  which  I  have  delivered  unto  thee  ? 
They  are  good,  doubt  not;  but  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  walk 
in  them.  For  I  will  give  thee  strength"  to  fulfil  them.  These  com- 
mands are  profitable  to  those  who  shall  repent  of  those  sins  which  they 
have  formerly  committed,  if  for  the  time  to  come  they  shall  not  con- 
tinue in  them.  Whosoever,  therefore,  ye  be  that  repent,  cast  away 
from  you  the  naughtiness  of  the  present  world,  and  put  on  all  virtue 
and  righteousness ;  and  so  shall  ye  be  able  to  keep  these  commands, 
and  not  sin  from  henceforth  any  more.  For  if  ye  shall  keep  yourselves 
from  sin  for  the  time  to  come,  ye  shall  cut  off  a  great  deal  of  your  for- 
mer sins.  Wralk  in  my  commands,  and  ye  shall  live  unto  God.  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you."  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  added, 
"  Let  us  go  into  the  field,  and  I  will  show  thee  shepherds  of  sheep." 
And  I  replied,  "  Sir,  let  us  go."  And  we  came  into  a  certain  field, 
and  there  he  showed  me  a  young  shepherd,6  finely  arrayed,  with  his 
garments  of  a  purple  colour.  And  he  fed  large  flocks ;  and  his  sheep 
wTere  full  of  pleasure,  and  in  much  delight  and  cheerfulness;  and  they, 
skipping,  ran  here  and  there.  And  the  shepherd  took  very  great  satis- 
faction in  his  flock ;  and  the  countenance  of  that  shepherd  was  cheer- 
ful, running  up  and  down  among  his  flock. 

II.  Then  the  angel  said  unto  me,  "  Seest  thou  this  shepherd?"  I 
answered,  «  Sir,  I  see  him."  He  said  unto  me,  "  This  is  the  messen- 
ger0 of  delight  and  pleasure.  He,  therefore,  corrupts  the  minds  of  the 
servants  of  God,  and  turns  them  from  the  truth,  delighting  them  with 
many  pleasures,  and  they  perish.  For  they  forget  the  commands  of 
the  living  God,  and  live  in  luxury  and  in  vain  pleasures ;  and  are  cor- 
rupted by  this  evil  angel,  some  of  them  even  unto  death  ;  and  others 
to  a  falling  away."J  I  replied,  «  I  understand  not  what  you  mean,  by 
saying,  unto  death,  and  to  a  falling  away."     "  Hear!"  says  he,  "  all 

a  In  them.         b  Vid.  Annot.  Cotelcr.  in  Ioc.  c  Jngcl.  d  Ad  defedioncm. — Lat. 


236  THE   SHEPHERD   OF    8T.    HERMAS. 

those  sheep  which  thoa  rawest  exceedingly  joyful,*  are  such  as  have 
for  ever  departed  from  God,  and  given  themselves  up  to  the"  lusts  of 
this  present  time.  To  these,  therefore,  there  is  no  return,  by  repent- 
ance, onto  life;  because  that  to  their  other  sins  they  have  added  this, 
that  they  hav<-  blasphemed  the  name  of  the  Lord.  These  kind  of  men 
are  ordained  unto  death.  Bui  those  sheep  which  thou  rawest  not 
leaping,  but  feeding  in  one  place,  are  such  as  have,  i  riven 

themselves  up  to  pleasures  and  delights,  but  have  not  spoken  any  thing 
wickedly  against  the  Lord.     These,  therefore,  arc  only  fallen  off  from 

the  truth,  and  SO  have  yet  hope  laid  ap  for  them  in  repentance.  For 
such  a  falling  off  hath  some  hope  still  left  of  a  renewal  ;  but  they  that 
are  dead  are  utterly  gone  for  ever."  Again  we  went  a  little  farther 
forward  ;  and  he  showed  me  a  great  shepherd,  who  had  as  it  were  a 
rustic'  figure,  clad  with  a  while  goat's  skin,  having  his  hag  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  in  his  hand  a  stick  full  of  knots,  and  very  hard,  and  a 
whip  in  his  other  hand  ;  and  his  countenance  was  stern  and  sour,  enough 
to  affright  a  man :  such  was  his  look.  He  took  from  that  young  shep- 
herd such  sheep  as  lived  in  pleasures,  hut  did  not  skip  up  and  down, 
and  drove  them  into  a  certain  steep  craggy  place,  full  of  thorns  and 
briars,  insomuch  that  they  could  not  get  themselves  free  from  them, 
hut,  being  entangled  in  them,  fed  upon  thorns  and  briars,  and  were 
grievously  tormented  with  his  whipping;  for  he  still  drove  them  on, 
and  afforded  them  not  any  place,  or  time,  to  stand  still. 

III.  When,  therefore,  I  saw  them  so  cruelly  whipped  and  afflicted, 
I  w«S  grieved  tor  tin  m  ;  because  they  were  greatly  tormented,  nor  had 
they  any  rest  afforded  them.  And  I  said  unto  the  shepherd  that  was 
with  me,  m  Sir,  who  is  this  cruel  and  implacable  shepherd,  who  is 
moved  with  no  compassion  towards  these  sheep?"  He  answered, 
"  ThisJ  shepherd  is  indeed  one  of  the  holy'  angels  ;  but  is  appointed 
tor  the  punishment  of  sinners.  To  him,  therefore,  are  delivered  those 
who  have  erred  from  God,  and  served  the  lusts  and  pleasures  of  this 
world.  For  this  cause  he  punishes  them,  every  one  according  to  their 
•is,  with  cruel  and  various  kind  of  pains."  "Sir,"  said  I,  "I 
would  know  what  kind  of  pains  they  are  which  everyone  undergoes?" 

«  Hearken!"  said  he,  "the several  pains  and  torments  are  those  which 
men  every  day  undergo  in  their  present  lives.     For  some  suffer  L< 
others  poverty,  others  divers  sicknesses.     Some  are  unsettled  j  others 

suffer   injuries   from    those  that    are   unworthy,  others  fill  under  many 

other  trials  and  inconvenienced      For  many,  with  an  unsettled  d< 

aim  at  many  things,  and  it  profitetfa   them  not  :    and  they  s.i\  that   they 

Ha. —  Lat         *  In  (!r.  Atlre.  item. — 

d  \  id.  Origan,  in  PaaL  czxm  Horn.  i.  at,     Ln  (ir.  Athanaa.<' 

El   nc  MS,  1 


HIS   SIMILITUDES-  237 

have  not  success  in  their  undertakings.  They1  do  not  call  to  mind 
what  they  have  done  amiss,  and  they  complain  of  the  Lord.  When, 
therefore,  they  shall  have  undergone  all  kind  of  vexation  and  incon- 
venience, then  they  are  delivered  over  to  me  for  good  instruction,  and 
are  confirmed  in  the  faith  of  the  Lord,  and  serve  the  Lord  all  the  rest 
of  their  days  with  a  pure  mind.  And  when  they  begin  to  repent  of 
their  sins,  then  they  call  to  mind  their  works  which  they  have  done 
amiss,  and  give  honour  to  God,  saying  that  he  is  a  just  judge,  and 
they  have  deservedly  suffered  all  things  according  to  their  deeds. 
Then  for  what  remains  of  their  lives,  they  serve  God  with  a  pure  mind, 
and  have  success  in  all  their  undertakings,  and  receive  from  the  Lord 
whatever  they  desire.  And  then  they  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  that 
they  were  delivered  unto  me ;  nor  do  they  suffer  any  more  cruelty." 

IV.  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  I  entreat  you  still  to  show  me  now  one 
thing."  "What,"  said  he,  "dost  thou  ask?"h  I  said  unto  him, 
"Are  they  who  depart  from  the  fear  of  God  tormented  for  the  same 
time  that  they  enjoyed  their  false  delight  and  pleasures  ?"  He  an- 
swered me,  "  They  are  tormented  for  the  same  time."  And  I  said 
unto  him,  "  They  are  then  tormented  but  little  ;  whereas  they  who 
enjoy  their  pleasures  so  as  to  forget  God,  ought  to  endure  seven  times 
as  much  punishment."  He  answered  me,  "Thou  art  foolish,  neither 
understandest  thou  the  efficacy  of  this  punishment."  I  said  unto  him, 
"Sir,  if  I  understood  it,  I  would  not  desire  you  to  tell  me." 
"  Hearken!"  said  he,  "  and  learn  what  the  force  of  both  is,  both  of 
the  pleasure  and  of  the  punishment.  An  hour  of  pleasure  is  termi- 
nated within  its  own  space:  but  one  hour  of  punishment  has  the 
efficacy  of  thirty  days.  c  Whosoever,  therefore,  enjoys  his  false  plea- 
sure for  one  day,  and  is  one  day  tormented,  that  one  day  of  punish- 
ment is  equivalent  to  a  whole  year's  space.  Thus  look  how  many 
days  any  one  pursues  his  pleasures,  so  many  years  is  he  punished  for 
it.  You  see,  there/ore,  how  that  the  time  of  worldly  enjoyments  is 
but  short,  but  that  of  pain  and  torments  a  great  deal  more." 

V.  I  replied,  "  Sir,  forasmuch  as  I  do  not  understand  at  all d  these 
times  of  pleasure  and  pain,  I  entreat  you  that  you  would  explain  your- 
self more  clearly  concerning  them."  He  answered  me,  saying,  "Thy 
foolishness  still  sticks  unto  thee.  Shouldst  thou  not  rather  purify  thy 
mind,  and  serve  God?  Take  heed,  lest  when  thy  time  is  fulfilled, 
thou  be  found  still  unwise.  Hear  then,  as  thou  desirest,  that  thou 
mayst  the  more  easily  understand.  He  that  gives  himself  up  one  day 
to  his  pleasures  and  delights,  and  does  whatsoever  his  soul  desires,  is 
full  of  great  folly,  nor  understands  what  he  does,  but  the  day  folio w- 


0  MS.  Lamb.  Surcurrit  iis. — Gr.  Athanas.  ov  yivwovm.  b  MS.  Lamb.  Inquiris. 

r  Origen.  in  num.  Horn.  viii.  d  MS.  Lamb.  Omnino. 


238  THE  SHEPHERD  OE  ST.  HERMA8. 

ing  forgets  what  he  did  the  day  before.  For  delight  and  worldly 
pleasure  are  not  kept  in  memory,  by  reason  of  the  folly  that  is  rooted 
in  them.  But  when  pain  and  torment  befall  a  man  a  day,  he  is  in 
effect  troubled  the  whole  year  Bfter,  because  his  punishment  continues 
firm  in  his  memory.  Wherefore  he  remembers  it  with  sorrow  the 
whole  year;  and  then  rails  to  mind  his  vain  pleasure  and  delight,  and 
■  ivea  that  for  the  sake  of  that  he  was  punished.  Whosoever, 
therefore,  have  delivered  themselves  over  to  such  pleasures,  are  thus 
punished  ;  because  that  when  they  had  life,  they  rendered  themselves 
liable  to  death."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  what  pleasures  are  hurtful  r" 
He  answered,  "  That  is  pleasure  to  every  man  which  he  does  willing- 
ly. For  the  angry  man,  gratifying  his  passion,  perceives  pleasure  in 
it;  and  so  the  adulterer,  and  drunkard;  the  slanderer,  and  liar;  the 
covetous  man,  and  the  defrauder ;  and  whosoever  commits  any  thing 
like  unto  these  ;  because  he  followeth  his  evil  disposition,0  he  receives 
a  satisfaction  in  the  doing  of  it.  All  these  pleasures  and  delights  are 
hurtful  to  the  servants  of  God.  For  these,  therefore,  they  are  tor- 
mented and  suffer  punishment.  There  are  also  pleasures  that  bring 
salvation  unto  men.  For  many  when  they  do  what  is  good  find  plea- 
sure in  it,  and  are  attracted  by  the  delights  of  it.  Now  this  pleasure 
is  profitable  to  the  servants  o^  God,  and  brings  life  to  such  men,  but 
those  hurtful  pleasures,  which  were  before  mentioned,  bring  torments 
and  punishment.  And  whosoever  shall  continue  in  them,  and  shall 
not  repent  of  what  they  have  done,  shall  bring  death  upon  them 
selves." 

The  Seventh  Similitude. 
Thai  they  who  repent,  must  bring  forth  fruits  worthy  of  repentance, 

AjTEB  b  few  days  I  saw  the  same  person  that  before  talked  with  DM  . 
la  the  same  field  in  which  I  had  seen  those  shepherds.  And  he  said 
unto  me,  "  What  seekest  thou  ?"  "  Sir,"  said  I,  "I  came  to  entreat 
you  that   you  would   command  the  shepherd,  who  is  the   minister  oi 

punishment,  to  depart  out  of  my  house,  because  he  greatly  afflicts 
me."  And  he  answered,  "It  is  necessary  for  thee  to  endure  incon- 
veniences and  vexations;  for  so  that  good  angel  hath  commanded 
concerning  thee,  because  he  would  try  thee."  "  Sir,'1  said  I,  «  what 
so  ere, it  offence  have  I  committed,  that  I  should  be  delivered  to  this 
enger?'"  ((Hearken!'1  said  he,  "thou  art,  indeed,  guilty  of 
many  Bins,  yet  not  so  many  that  thou  ahouldst  be  delivered  to  this  mes- 
senger;' but  thy  lwusc  hath  committed  many  sins  and  offences  ;  and. 
therefore,  that  good  messenger,1  being  grieved  at  their  doings,  com- 


HIS    SIMILITUDES.  239 

manded  that  for  some  time  thou  shouldst  suffer  affliction,  that  they 
may  both  repent  of  what  they  have  done,  and  may  wash  themselves 
from  all  the  lusts  of  this  present  world.  When,  therefore,  they  shall 
have  repented,  and  be  purified,  then  that  messenger  which  is  appointed 
over  thy  punishment  shall  depart  from  thee."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir, 
if  they  have  behaved  themselves  so  as  to  anger  that  good  angel,  yet 
what  have  I  done?"  He  answered,  "  They  cannot  otherwise  be  af- 
flicted, unless  thou,  who  art  the  head  of  the  family,  suffer.  For  what- 
soever thou  shalt  suffer,  they  must  needs  feel  it,  but  as  long  as  thou 
shalt  stand  well  established,  they  cannot  experience  any  vexation."  I 
replied,  "But,  sir,  behold,  they  also  now  repent  with  all  their  hearts." 
«  I  know,"  says  he,  "  that  they  repent  with  all  their  hearts  ;  but  dost 
thou,  therefore,  think  that  their  offences,  wTho  repent,  are  immediately 
blotted  out  ?  No,  they  are  not  presently ;  but  he  that  repents  must 
afflict  his  soul,  and  show  himself  humble  in  all  his  affairs,  and  undergo 
many  and  divers  vexations.  And  when  he  shall  have  suffered  all 
things  that  were  appointed  for  him,  then,  perhaps,  He  that  made  him, 
and  formed  all  things  besides,  will  be  moved  with  compassion  towards 
him,  and  afford  him  some  remedy ;  and  especially  if  he  shall  perceive 
his  heart,  who  repents,  to  be  pure  from  every  will  work.  But  at  pre- 
sent it  is  expedient  for  thee,  and  for  thy  house,  to  be  grieved ;  and  it 
is  needful  that  thou  shouldst  endure  much  vexation,  as  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  wTho  committed  thee  unto  me  has  commanded.  Rather  give 
thanks  unto  the  Lord,  that,  knowing  what  was  to  come,  he  thought 
thee  worthy  to  whom  he  should  foretell  that  trouble  was  coming  upon 
thee,  who  art  able  to  bear  it."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  be  but  thou 
also  with  me,  and  I  shall  easily  undergo  any  trouble."  "I  will," 
said  he,  "  be  with  thee ;  and  I  will  entreat  the  messenger  who  is  set 
over  thy  punishment,  that  he  would  moderate  his  afflictions  towards 
thee.  And,  moreover,  thou  shalt  suffer  adversity  but  for  a  little  time, 
and  then  thou  shalt  again  be  restored  to  thy  former  state  ;  only  continue 
on  in  the  humility  of  thy  mind.  Obey  the  Lord  with  a  pure  heart, 
thou  and  thy  house,  and  thy  children  ;  and  walk  in  the  commands 
which  I  have  delivered  unto  thee ;  and  then  thy  repentance  may  be 
firm  and  pure.  And  if  thou  shalt  keep  these  things  with  thy  house, 
thy  inconveniences  shall  depart  from  thee.  And  all  vexation  shall  in 
like  manner  depart  from  all  those  whosoever  shall  walk  according  to 
these  commands." 


240  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMaS. 


Tin:  Eighth  Similitude. 

TJiat  there  arc  mmtu  kinds  <>/'  </"/.  and  of  repenting  shiners:  and  fww 
all  of  them  shtdl  recewi  a  reward  proportionable  to  t/ie  measure  of 
their  repentance  awl  good  works, 

I.  Again  be  Bhowed  me  a  willow,  which  covered  the  fields  and  the 

mountains,  under  whose  shadow  came  all  such  as  were  called  by  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  And  by  that  willow  stood  an  angel  of  the  Lord, 
vitv  excellent  and  lofty;  and  did  cut  down  boughs  from  that  willow 
with  a  great  hook ;  and  reached  out  to  the  people  that  were  under  the 
shadow  of  that  willow,  little  rods,  as  it  were  about  a  foot  long.  And 
when  all  of  them  had  taken  them,  he  laid  aside  his  hook,  and  the  tree 
continued  entire,  as  I  had  before  seen  it.  At  which  I  wondered,  and 
mused  within  myself.  Then  that  shepherd  said  unto  me,  "Forbear  to 
wonder  that  that  tree  continues  whole,  notwithstanding  so  many  boughs 
have  been  cut  off*  from  it;  but  stay  a  little,  for  now  it  shall  be  shown 
thee  what  that  angel  means,  who  gave  those  rods  to  the  people."  So 
he  again  demanded  the  rods  of  them  ;  and  in  the  same  order  that  every 
one  had  received  them,  was  he  called  to  him,  and  restored  his  rod  ; 
which  when  he  had  received,  he  examined  them.  From  some  he  re- 
ceived  them  dry  and  rotten,  and  as  it  were  touched  with  the  moth:0, 
those  he  commanded  to  be  separated  from  the  rest,  and  placed  by 
themselves.  Others  gave  him  their  rods  dry,  indeed,  but  not  touched 
with  the  moth :  these  also  he  ordered  to  be  set  by  themselves.  Others 
gave  in  their  rods  half  dry  :  these  also  were  set  apart.  Others  gave  in 
their  rods  half  dry  and  cleft  :  these  too  were  set  by  thema 
"Others  brought  in  their  rods  one  half  dry  and  the  other  green  ;  and 
these  were  in  like  manner  placed  by  themselves.  Others  delivered  up 
their  rods  two  parts  green,  and  the  third  dry;  and  they  too  wen 
apart.  Others  brought  their  rods  two  parts  dry,  and  the  third  green  : 
and  were  also  placed  bj  themselves.  Others  delivered  up  thefr  rods 
less  dry,  (for  their  was  but  a  very  little,  to  wit,  their  tops  dry,)  but 
thej  had  clefts;  and  these  were  set  in  like  manner  by  themselves.  In 
the  i  aers  there  was  but  a  little  green,  and  the  rest  dry;  and 

these  were  set  aside  by  themselves.  Others  came  and  brought  their 
rods  green  as  they  had  received  them,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the 
people  brought  their  rods  thus;  and  the  messenger  greatly  rejoiced  at 
these,  and  the}  also  were  put  apart  bj  themselves.  Others  brought 
their  rods  not  onl)  green,  but  full  of  branches;  and  these  wen    Bel 


«  U  r.     •  mo  of  the  rapeafe  1  vrotdi  i  then  u  lefcufebeen 

omitted,  wk  mentioned,  |  N-  Me"  Ml-  *nd 

•re  mu>t  likewiee bate  been  nanrH  l»«rc 


HIS    SIMILITUDES.  241 

aside,  being  also  received  by  the  angel  with  great  joy.  Others  brought 
their  rods  green  with  branches,  and  those  also  some  fruit  upon  them. 
They  who  had  such  rods,  were  very  cheerful ;  and  (he  angel  himself 
took  great  joy  at  them  ;  nor  was  the  shepherd  that  stood  with  me  less 
pleased  with  them. 

II.  Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord  commanded  crowns  to  be  brought  : 
and  the  crowns  wrere  brought,  made  of  palms ;  and  the  angel  crowned 
those  men  in  whose  rods  he  found  the  young  branches  with  fruit,  and 
commanded  them  to  go  into  the  tower.  He  also  sent  those  into  the 
tower  inwhose  rods  he  found  branches  without  fruit,  giving  a  seal  unto 
them.  For  they  had  the  same  garment,  that  is,  one  white  as  snow ; 
with  which  he  bade  them  go  into  the  tower.  And  so  he  did  to  those 
who  returned  their  rods  green  as  they  received  them,  giving  them  a 
white  garment,  and  so  sent  them  away  to  go  into  the  tower.  Having 
done  this,  he  said  to  the  shepherd  that  was  with  me,  "  I  go  my  way ; 
but  do  thou  send  these  within  the  walls,  every  one  into  the  place  in 
which  he  has  deserved  to  dwell ;  examining  first  their  rods,  but  exa- 
mine them  diligently,  that  no  one  deceive  thee.  But  and  if  any  one 
shall  escape  thee,  I  will  try  them  upon  the  altar.''  Having  said  this 
to  the  shepherd,  he  departed.  After  he  was  gone,  the  shepherd  said 
unto  me,  "  Let  us  take  the  rods  from  them  all,  and  plant  them ;  if 
perchance  they  may  grow  green  again."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  how 
can  those  dry  rods  ever  grow  green  again  ?"  He  answered  me,  "  That 
tree  is  a  willow,  and  always  loves  to  live.  If,  therefore,  these  rods 
shall  be  planted,  and  receive  a  little  moisture,  many  of  them  will  re- 
cover themselves.  Wherefore  I  will  try,  and  will  pour  water  upon  them  ; 
and  if  any  of  them  can  live,  I  will  rejoice  with  him ;  but  if  not,  at 
least  by  this  means  I  shall  be  found  not  to  have  neglected  my  part." 
Then  he  commanded  me  to  call  them ;  and  they  all  came  unto  him, 
every  one  in  the  rank  in  which  he  stood,  and  gave  him  their  rods ; 
which  having  received,  he  planted  every  one  of  them  in  their  several 
orders.  And  after  he  had  planted  them  all,  he  poured  much  water 
upon  them,  insomuch  that  they  were  covered  with  water,  and  did  not 
appear  above  it.  Then  when  he  had  watered  them,  he  said  unto  me, 
"  Let  us  depart,  and  after  a  little  time,  we  will  return  and  visit  them. 
For  he  who  created  this  tree,  would  have  all  those  live  that  receive 
rods  from  it.  And  I  hope,  now  that  these  rods  are  thus  watered,  many 
of  them,  receiving  in  the  moisture,  will  recover." 

III.  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  tell  me  what  this  tree  denotes  ?  for  I  am 
greatly  astonished,"  that  after  so  many  branches  have  been  cut  off,  it 
seems  still  to  be  whole ;  nor  does  there  any  thing  the  less  of  it  appear 
to  remain,  which  greatly  amazes  me."      He  answered,  "Hearken! 


"  Moved. 

31  X 


242  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.  HERMAS. 

This  gre.it  tree  which  coven  the  plains  and  the  mountains,  and  all  the 
earth,  is  the  law  of  <iod  published  throughout  the  whole  world.  Now- 
this  law  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  preached  lo  all  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
The  people  that  stand  under  its  shadow,  are  those  which  have  heard 
his  preaching,  and  believed.  The  great  and  venerable  angel  which 
you  saw,  was  Michael,  who  has  the  power  over  this  people,  and  go- 
verns them.  For  he  has  planted  the  law  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
have  believed;  and,  therefore,  he  visits  them  to  whom  he  has  given 
the  law,  to  see  if  they  have  kept  it.  And  he  examines  every  one's  rod  ; 
and  of  those,  many  that  are  weakened  ;  for  those  rods  are  the  law  of 
the  Lord.  Then  he  discerns  all  those  who  have  not  kept  the  law, 
knowing  the  place  of  every  one  of  them."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  why 
did  he  send  away  some  to  the  tower,  and  left  others  here  to  you?" 
He  replied,  »  Those  who  have  transgressed  the  law  which  they  received 
from  him,  are  left  in  my  power,  that  they  may  repent  of  their  sins : 
but  they  who  fulfilled6  the  law  and  kept  it,  are  under  his  power. " 
"  But  who  then,"  said  I,  "  are  those  who  went  into  the  tower  crowned  ?" 
He  replied,  "  All  such  as  having  striven  with  the  devil,  have  overcome 
him,  are  crowned  ;  and  they  are  those  who  have  suffered  hard  things 
that  they  might  keep  the  law.  But  they  who  gave  up  their  rods  green, 
and  with  young  branches,  but  without  fruit,  have,  indeed,  endured 
trouble  for  the  same  law,  but  have  not  suffered  death  ;  neither  have  they 
denied  their  holy  law.  They  who  have  delivered  up  their  rods  green  ;ts 
they  received  them,  are  those  who  are  modest  and  just,  and  have  lived 
with  a  very  pure  mind,  and  kept  the  commandments  of  God.  The 
rest  thou  shalt  know  when  I  shall  have  considered  those  rods  which  I 
have  planted  and  watered." 

IV.  After  a  few  days  wre  returned  ;  and  in  the  same  place  stood  that 
glorious  angel,  and  I  stood  by  him.  Then  he  said  unto  me,  "  Gird 
thyself  with  a  towel;  and  serve  me."  And  I  girded  myself  with  a 
clean  towel,  which  was  made  of  coarse  cloth.  And  when  he  Baw  me 
girded,  and  ready  to  minister  unto  him,  he  sa.id,  «  Call  those  men 
whose  rods  have  been  planted,  every  one  in  his  order  as  they 
them."  And  he  brought  me  into  the  field  ;  and  I  called  them  all,  and 
the]  all  stood  ready  in  their  Beveral  ranks.  Then  he  said  unto  them, 
'■<■  Let  every  one  pluck  up  his  rod,  and  bring  it  unto  me."  And  first 
mey  delivered  theirs  whose  rods  had  been  dry  and  rotten.  And  those 
who*  '1  continued  bo,  he  commanded  to  stand  apart.     Then 

they  came  whose  rods  had  been  dry  but  not  rotten.  Seme  of  these 
delivered  in  their  rods  green;  others  dry  and  rotten,  as  if  they  had  been 
tow  bed  by  the  moth.'  Those  who  gave  them  up  green  he  commanded 


^ts.   I.  i.:i»..   /  SlC  tied.  '  N/>- 

Vid.  Edit  OfcOQ.  p.  IS9,  not  </•  -  H\>rm-ratm. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  243 

to  stand  apart;  but  those  whose  rods  were  dry  and  rotten  he  caused  to 
stand  with  the  first  sort.  Then  came  they  whose  rods  had  been  half 
dry  and  cleft;  many  of  these  gave  up  their  rods  green  and  uncleft. 
Others  delivered  them  up  green  with  branches,  and  fruit  upon  the 
branches,  like  unto  theirs  who  went  crowned  into  the  tower.  Others 
delivered  them  up  dry,  but  not  rotten,  and  some  gave  them  as  they 
were  before,  half  dry  and  cleft.  Every  one  of  these  he  ordered  to  stand 
apart,  some  by  themselves,  others  in  their  respective  ranks. 

V.  Then  came  they  whose  rods  had  been  green,  but  cleft.  These 
delivered  their  rods  altogether  green,  and  stood  in  their  own  order. 
And  the  shepherd  rejoiced  at  these,  because  they  were  all  changed  and 
free  from  their  clefts.  Then  they  gave  in  their  rods,  who  had  them 
half  green  and  half  dry.  Of  these  some  were  found  wholly  green ; 
others  half  dry;  others  green,  with  young  shoots.  And  all  these  were 
sent  away,  every  one  to  his  proper  rank.  Then  they  gave  up  their 
rods,  who  had  them  before  two  parts  green,  and  the  third  dry.  Many 
of  these  gave  in  their  rods  green  ;  many  half  dry  ;  the  rest  dry  but  not 
rotten.  So  these  were  sent  away,  each  to  his  proper  place.  Then 
came  they  who  had,  before,  their  rods  two  parts  dry,  and  the  third 
green:  many  of  these  delivered  up  their  rods  half  dry;  others  dry  and 
rotten  ;  others  half  dry  and  cleft ;  but  few  green.  And  all  these  were 
set  every  one  in  his  own  rank.  a  Then  they  reached  in  their  rods,  "  in 
which  there  was  before  but  a  little  green,  and  the  rest  dry.  Their  rods- 
were  for  the  most  part  found  green,  having  little  boughs  with  fruit  upon 
them  ;  and  the  rest  altogether  green.  And  the  shepherd  upon  sight  of 
these  rejoiced  exceedingly,  because  he  had  found  them  thus :  and  they 
also  went  to  their  proper  orders. 

VI.  Now  after  he  had  examined  all  their  rods,  he  said  unto  me,  "  1 
told  thee  that  this  tree  loved  life ;  thou  seest  how  many  have  repented, 
and  attained  unto  salvation."  "  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  see  it."  "  That  thou 
mightest  know,"  saith  he,  "  that  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the 
Lord  is  great,  and  to  be  had  in  honour;  who  gave  his  spirit  to  them 
that  were  found  worthy  of  repentance."  I  answered,  «  Sir,  why  then 
did  not  all  of  them  repent?"  He  replied,  »  Those  whose  minds  the 
Lord  foresaw  would  be  pure,  and  that  they  would  serve  him  with  all 
their  hearts,  to  them  he  gave  repentance.  But  for  those  whose  deceit 
and  wickedness  he  beheld,  and  perceived  that  they  would  not  truly 
return  unto  him,  to  them  he  denied  any  return  unto  repentance,  lest 
they  should  again  blaspheme  his  law  with  wicked  words."  I  said 
unto  him,  "  Now,  Sir,  make  known  unto  me,  what  is  the  place  of  every 


a  Here  again,  by  the  carelessness  of  the  transcribers,  are  left  out  those  Whose  rods  wen 
but  for  a  small  part  dry,  namely,  on  the  top,  but  had  clefts,  which  are  mentioned  beforp, 
§  i.  and  again  at  the  beginning  of  §  x.         b  MS.  Lamb.  Rtintkrwm  habueranl  viridc 


244  THE    SHEPHERD   OF    ST.     HERMAS. 

one  of  those  who  have  given  up  their  rods,  and  what  their  portion;' 
that  when  they  who  have  not  kept  their  seal  entire,  but  have  wasted 
the  seal  which  they  received,  shall  hear  and  believe  these  things,  they 
may  acknowledge  their  evil  ind  repent ;  and  receiving  again 

their  seal  from  you,  may  give  glory  to  God,  that  he  was  moved  with 
compassion  towards  them,  and  sent  you  to  renew  their  spirits.'1 
"Hearken!"  said  he;  "they  whose  rods  have  been  found  dry  and 

rotten,  and  as  it  were  touched  with  the  moth,b  are  the  desert  is  and 
betrayers  of  the  church  ;  who  with  the  rest  of  their  crimes,  ha'.. 
blasphemed  the  Lord,  and  denied  his  nana-  which  had  been  called 
upon  them.  Therefore  all  these  are  dead  unto  God ;  and  thou  sei  si 
that  none  of  them  have  repented,  although  they  have  heard  my  com- 
mands, which  Uiou  hast  delivered  unto  them.  From  these  men,  there- 
fore, life  is  far  distant.  They  also  who  have  delivered  up  their  rods 
dry,  but  not  rotten,  have  not  been  far  from  them ;  for  they  have  been 
counterfeits,  and  brought  in  evil  doctrines,  and  have  perverted  the 
servants  of  God,  but  especially  those  who  had  sinned,  not  suffering 
them  to  return  unto  repentance,  but  keeping  them  back  by  their  false 
doctrines.  These,  therefore,  have  hope ;  and  thou  sees!  that  many  of 
of  them  have  repented,  since  the  time  that  thou  hast  laid  my  commands 
before  them;  and  many  more  will  yet  repent.  But  they  that  shall  not 
repent,  shall  lose  both  repentance  and  life.  But  they  that  have  repented, 
their  place  is  begun  to  be  within  the  first  walls,  and  some  of  them  are 
even  gone  into  the  tower.  Thou  seest,  therefore,"  said  he,  "that  in 
the  repentance  of  sinners  there  is  life;  but  that  for  those  who  repent 
not,  death  is  prepared. 

VII.  "  Hear  now  concerning  those  who  gave  in  their  rods  half  dry, 
and  full  of  clefts.  They  whose  rods  were  only  half  dry  are  the  doubt- 
ful;  for  they  are  neither  living  nor  dead.  Bui  they  who  delivered  in 
their  rods  not  only  half  dry,  but  also  full  of  clefts,  are  both  doubtful  and 
evil  speakers;  who  detract  from  those   that  nt,  and  have  oevei 

peace  among  themselves,  and  that  envy  one  another.     Howfo 

also  repentance  is  i  flTered,  for  thou  seest  that  some  of  these  have 
repented.     Now  all  those  of  this  kind  who  have  quickl)  repented  shall 

have  a  place  in  the  tower;  but  they  who  have  been  more  slow  in  their 
repentance  -hall  dwell  within  the  walls;  but  they  that  shall  not  repent, 

but  shall  Continue  On  in  their  wicked  doings,  shall  die  the  death.  As 
for  those  who  had  their  rods  green,  but  yet  cleft,  they  are  such  a- 

always  faithful  and  g 1,  but  the)  had  some  envy  and  strife  an 

themselves  concerning  dignity  and  pre-eminence.  Now,  all  such  art- 
vain,  and  without   understanding,  as  contend  With   one    .mother  about 

these  thing  .     Neverth  rwise  good,  if  when 


•  Stat.  »  \Yorn\-taten. 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  245 

they  shall  hear  these  commands,  they  shall  amend  themselves,  and  shall 
at  my  persuasion  suddenly  repent,  they  shall  at  last  dwell  in  the  tower, 
as  they  who  have  truly  and  worthily  repented.  But  if  any  one  shall 
again  return  to  his  dissension,  he  shall  be  shut  out  from  the  tower  and 
shall  lose  his  life.  For  the  life  of  those  who  keep  the  commandments 
of  the  Lord,  consists  in  doing  what  they  are  commanded,  not  in  prin- 
cipality, or  in  any  other  dignity.  For  by  forbearance  and  humility  of 
mind  men  shall  attain  unto  life,  but  by  seditions  and  contempt  of  the 
law  they  shall  purchase  death  unto  themselves. 

VIII.  il  They  who  in  their  rods  had  one  half  dry  and  the  other  green, 
are  those  who  are  engaged  in  many  affairs  of  the  world,  and  are  not 
joined  to  the  saints.  For  which  cause  half  of  them  liveth,  and  half  is 
dead.  Wherefore,  many  of  these,  since  the  time  that  they  have  heard 
my  commands,  have  repented,  and  begun  to  dwell  in  the  tower.  But 
some  of  them  have  wholly  fallen  away ;  to  these  there  is  no  more  place 
for  repentance.  For  by  reason  of  their  present  interests  they  have 
blasphemed  and  denied  God  ;  and  for  this  wickedness  they  have  lost 
life.  And  of  these  many  are  still  in  doubt:  these  may  yet  return;  and 
if  they  shall  quickly  repent  they  shall  have  a  place  in  the  tower;  but  if 
they  shall  be  more  slow  they  shall  dwell  within  the  walls ;  but  if  they 
shall  not  repent  they  shall  die.  As  for  those  who  had  two  parts  of  their 
rods  green  and  the  third  dry,  they  have,  by  manifold  ways,"  denied  the 
Lord.  Of  these  many  have  repented,  and  found  a  place  in  the  tower, 
and  many  have  altogether  departed  from  God.  These  have  utterly  lost 
life.  And  some,  being  in  a  doubtful  state,  have  raised  up  dissensions: 
these  may  yet  return,  if  they  shall  suddenly  repent,  and  not  continue 
in  their  lusts ;  but  if  they  shall  continue  in  their  evil-doing  they  shall  die. 

IX.  "  They  who  gave  in  their  rods  two  parts  dry  and  the  other 
green  are  those  who  have,  indeed,  been  faithful,  but  withal  rich  and 
full  of  good  things ;  and  thereupon  have  desired  to  be  famous  among 
the  heathen  which  are  without,  and  have  thereby  fallen  into  great  pride, 
and  begun  to  aim  at  high  matters,  and  to  forsake  the  truth :  nor  were 
they  joined  to  the  saints,"  but  lived  with  the  heathen ;  and  this  life 
seemed  the  more  pleasant  to  them.  Howbeit  they  have  not  departed 
from  God,  but  continued  in  the  faith  ;  only  they  have  not  wrought  the 
works  of  faith.  Many,  therefore,  of  these  have  repented,  and  begun 
to  dwell  in  the  tower.  Yet  others,  still  living  among  the  heathen  peo- 
ple, and  being  lifted  up  with  their  vanities,  have  utterly  fallen  away 
from  God,  and  followed  the  works  and  wickednesses  of  the  heathen. 
These  kind  of  men,  therefore,  are  reckoned  among  strangers  to  the 
gospel.  Others  of  these  began  to  be  doubtful  in  their  minds,  despair- 
ing, by  reason  of  their  wicked  doings,  ever  to  attain  unto  salvation ; 


Lamb.  M.S.  <juamplvrimis  ccnrrihiis  inficiatU  *  Righteous. 

X  2 


246  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    8T.    ilKK.MAS. 

others,  being  thus  made  doubtful,  did  moreover  stir  up  dissensions- 
To  these,  therefore,  and  to  those  who  by  reason  of  their  doings  are 
become  doubtful,  there  is  still  hope  of  return  ;  but  they  must  repent 
quickly,  that  their  place  may  be  m  the  tower.  But  they  that  repent 
not,  but  continue  still  in  their  pleasures,  are  nigh  unto  death. 

X.  k-  As  for  those  who  gave  in   their  rods   green,  excepting  their 
which   only  were  dry,  and   had   clefts;  these  were  always  good, 

and  faithful,  and  Upright'  before  God  :  nevertheless  they  sinned  a  little, 
by  reason  of  their  empty  pleasures  and  trilling  thoughts  which  they  had 
within  themselves.  Wherefore  many  of  them,  when  they  heard  my 
words,  repented  forthwith,  and  began  to  dwell  in  the  tower.  N- 
theless,  some  grew  doubtful,  and  others  to  their  doubtful  minds  added 
dissensions.  To  these,  therefore,  there  is  still  hope  of  return,  because 
they  were  always  good  ;  but  they  shall  hardly  be  moved.  As  for  those, 
,  who  gave  in  their  rods  dry,  their  tops  only  excepted,  which 
alone  were  green  :  they  are  such  as  have  believed,  indeed,  in  God,  but 
have  lived  in  wickedness;  yet  without  departing  from  God,  having 
always  willingly  borne  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  readily  received  into 
their  houses  the  servants  of  God.  Wherefore  hearing  these  things. 
they  returned,  and  without  delay  repented,  and  lived  in  all  righteous- 
And  some  of  them  suffered  death  ;  others  readily  underwent 
many  trials,  being  mindful  of  their  evil-doings." 

XI.  And  when  he  had  ended  his  explications  of  all  the  rods,  he 
unto  me,  "Go,  and  say  unto  all  men,  that  they  repent,  and  thej 

live  unto  God:  because  the  Lord  being  moved  with  great  clemencj 
hath  sent  me  to  preach  repentance  unto  all,  even  unto  those  who,  by 

a  of  their  evil-doings,  deserve  not  to  attain  unto  salvation. 
the  Lord  will  be  patient,  and  keep  the  invitation  that  was  made  1>\  his 
Son."     I  said  unto  him,  «  Sir,  I  hope  that  all,  when  they  shall   hear 
these  things,  will  repent.     For  I  trust  that  ev< 
his  crimes,  and  taking  up  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  will  return  unto  repent- 
ance."     He   said  unto  me,   "Whosoever  shall  repent  with   all  their 

,  and  cleanse  themselves  from   all   the  evils   that  I  have   b 
mentioned,  and  not  add  anything  more  to  their  sins,  .shall  receive  from 
the  Lord  the  cure  of  their  former  iniquities,  if  they  shall  not  make  any 
doubt   of  these   commands,  and    shall    live   unto   God.       Bit  they  thai 

shall  continui  to  add  to  their  transgressions,  and  shall  .still  com 
with  the  lusts  of  this  present  world,  shall  an  themselves  unto 

death.  Bui  do  thou  walk  in  these  commands,  and  thou  shalt  live  unto 
God:  and  whasoever  shall  walk  in  these,  and  them  rightly, 

shall  live  unto  God."  And  having  showed  mi'  all  these  things  he  said. 
*<  I   will  show  thee  the  rest  in  a  few  dayS.W 

•  Probi. 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  247 


The  Ninth  Similitude. 

The  greatest  mysteries  of  the  militant  and  triumphant  church  which  is  to 

be  built. 

I.  After  I  had  written  the  commands  and  similitudes  of  the  shep- 
herd, the  angel  of  repentance,  he  came  to  me  and  said  to  me,  "  I  will 
show  thee  all  those  things  which  the  "spirit  spake  with  thee  under  the 
figure  of  the  church.  For  that  spirit  is  the  Son  of  God :  and  because 
thou  wert  weak  in  body  it  was  not  declared  unto  thee  by  the  angel, 
until  thou  wert  strengthened  by  the  spirit,  and  increased  in  force,  that 
thou  mightest  also  see  the  angel.  For  then,  indeed,  the  building  of 
the  tower  was  very  well  and  gloriously  showTn  unto  thee  by  the  church; 
nevertheless  thou  sawest  all  things  shown  unto  thee  as  it  were  by  a 
virgin.  But  now  thou  art  enlightened  by  the  angel,  but  yet  by  the  same 
spirit.  But  thou  must  consider  all  things  diligently  ;  for  therefore  am 
I  sent  unto  thine  house  by  that  venerable  messenger,1'  that  when  thou 
shalt  have  seen  all  things  powerfully,  thou  mayest  not  be  afraid  as 
before. "  And  he  led  me  to  the  height0  of  a  mountain  of  Arcadia,  and 
we  sat  upon  its  top.  And  he  showed  me  a  great  plain,  and  about  it 
twelve  mountains  in  different  figures.  The  first  was  black  as  soot ; 
the  second  was  smooth  without  herbs ;  the  third  was  full  of  thorns  and 
thistles  ;  the  fourth  had  herbs  half  dried,  of  which  the  upper  part  was 
green,  but  that  next  the  root  was  dry ;  and  some  of  the  herbs,  when 
the  sun  grew  hot,  wTere  dry  ;  the  fifth  mountain  was  very  rugged,  but 
yet  had  green  herbs  ;  the  sixth  mountain  was  full  of  clefts,  some  lesser 
and  some  greater,  and  in  those  clefts  grew  grass,  not  flourishing,  but 
which  seemed  to  be  withering ;  the  seventh  mountain  had  delightful 
pasture,  and  was  wholly  fruitful ;  and  all  kinds  of  cattle,  and  of  the 
birds  of  heaven  fed  upon  it ;  and  the  more  they  fed  of  it  the  better  did 
the  grass  grow ;  the  eighth  mountain  was  full  of  fountains,  and  from 
those  fountains  were  watered  all  kinds  of  the  creatures  of  God  ;  the 
ninth  mountain  had  no  water  at  all,  but  was  wholly  destitute  of  it,  and 
nourished  deadly  serpents,  and  destructive  to  men  ;  the  tenth  mountain 
was  full  of  tall  trees  and  altogether  shady,  and  under  the  shade  of  them 
lay  cattle  resting  and  chewing  the  cud;  the  eleventh  mountain  was  full 
of  the  thickest  trees,  and  those  trees  seemed  to  be  loaded  with  several 
sorts  of  fruits,  that  whosoever  saw  them  could  not  choose  but  desire  to 
eat  of  their  fruit ;  the  twelfth  mountain  was  altogether  white,  and  of  a 
most  pleasant  aspect ;  and  itself  gave  a  most  excellent  beauty  to 
itself. 

II.  In  the   middle  of  the  "plain  he  showed  me  a  huge  white  rock, 

0  See  above,  Book  I.  b  Angel.  e  Ascent.  d  Origcn.  Horn.  iii.  in  Ezcch. 


249  THE    SHEPHERD  OF   ST.    HERMAS. 

which  rose  out  of  the  plain  ;  and  the  rock  was  higher  than  those 
mountains,  and  was  square,  so  that  it  seemed  capable  of  supporting 
the  whole  world.  It  looked  to  me  to  be  old,  yet  had  it  a  new  gate, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  newly  hewn  out  in  it.     Now  that  gate 

bright  beyond  the  sun  itself;  insomuch  that  I  greatly  admired  at  its 
light.     About  thai  twelve  virgins;  of  which  four,  that 

stood  at  the  corners  of  the  gate,  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  chiefest, 
although  the  rest  also  were  of  worth ;  and  they  stood  in  the  four  parts 
of  the  gate.  It  added  also  to  the  grace  of  those  virgins,  that  they 
1  in  pairs,  clothed  with  linen  garments,  and  decently  girded,  their 
right  arms  being  at  liberty,  as  if  they  were  about  to  lift  up  some 
burden  : '  (br  BO  they  were  adorned,  and  were  exceeding  cheerful  and 
ready.  When  I  saw  this,  I  wondered  with  myself  to  see  such  great 
and  noble  things.  And  again  I  admired  upon  the  account  of  those 
virgins,  that  they  were  so  handsome  and  delicate  ;  and  stood  with  such 
firmness  and  constancy,  as  if  they  would  carry  the  whole  heaven. 
And  as  I  was  thinking  thus  within  myself,  the  shepherd  said  unto  me, 
«  What  thinkest  thou  within  thyself,  and  art  disquieted,  and  fillest  thy- 
self with  care?  Do  not  seem  to  consider,  as  if  thou  wert  wise,  what 
thou  dost  not  understand,  but  pray  unto  the  Lord  that  thou  mayest  I 
ability  to  understand  it:  what  is  to  come  thou  canst  not  understand, 
but  thou  seest  that  which  is  before  thee.  Be  not,  therefore,  disquieted 
at  thri<r  things  which  thou  canst  not  see;  but  get  the  understanding 
of  those  which  thou  sees'.  Forbear  to  be  curious;  and  I  will  show 
ill  things  that  I  ou^ht  to  declare  unto  thee  :  but  first  consider  what 
yet  remains." 

III.  And  when  he  had  said  this  unto  me,  I  looked  up,  and  behold  I 
saw  SIX  tall  and  venerable  men  coming;  their  countenances  were  all 
alike  :  and  they  called  a  certain  multitude  of  men  ;  and  they  who  came 
at  their  call  were  also  tall  and  stout.  And  those  six  commanded  them 
to  build  a  certain  tower  over  (bat  gate.  And  immediately  there  began 
to  be  a  great  noise  of  those  men  running  here  and  thereabout  the  gate, 
who  were  come  together  to  build  the  tower.     Hut  those  virgins  which 

stood   about  the  gate    perceived  that    the  building  of  the    tower  was  to 

be  hastened  by  them.  And  they  stretched  out  their  hands,  as  if  they 
WCre  I  -  receive  somewhat  from  them  to  do.  Then  those  six  men 
commanded,  thai  they  should  lift  up  stones  out  of  a  certain  deep  place, 

and  prepare  them  far  the  building  of  the  tow.  r.      And  then1  were  lifted 

up  ten  wh  ,  square,  and  fcno1  cul  round.     Then  those  six  men 

called  the  Virgins  to  them,  and  commanded  them  to  carryall  the  stones 

that  were1  to  be  put  into  the  building;  and  having  carried  them  through 

the  gate,  to  deliver  them  to  those  that  were  about  to  build  that  tower. 


—  Lat.  h  So  C Ot  W\ua  inloc. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  249 

Immediately  the  virgins  began,  all  of  them  together,  to  lift  up  those 
that  were  before  taken  out  of  the  deep. 

IV.  And  they  also  who  stood  about  the  gate  did  carry  stones  in  such 
a  manner,  that  those  stones  which  seemed  to  be  the  strongest  were  laid 
at  the  corners,  the  rest  were  put  into  the  sides :  and  thus  they  carried 
all  the  stones,  and,  bringing  them  through  the  gate,  delivered  them  to 
the  builders,  as  they  had  been  commanded  ;  who  receiving  them  at 
their  hands,  built  with  them.  But  this  building  was  made  upon  that 
great  rock,  and  over  the  gate  ;  and  by  these  the  whole  tower  was  sup- 
ported. But  the  building  of  the  ten  stones  filled  the  whole  gate, 
which  began  to  be  made  for  the  foundation  of  that  tower.  After  those 
ten  stones,  did  five  and  twenty  others  rise  up0  out  of  the  deep  ;  and 
these  were  placed  in  the  building  of  the  same  tower,  being  lifted  up 
by  those  virgins,  as  the  others  had  been  before.  After  these,  did  five 
and  thirty  others  rise  up  ;a  and  these  were  also,  in  like  manner,  fitted 
into  the  same  work.  Then  forty  other  stones  were  brought  up  ;  and 
all  these  were  added  unto  the  building  of  that  tower.  So  there  began 
to  be  four  ranks  in  the  foundation  of  that  towTer  ;  and  the  stones  ceased 
to  rise  outa  of  the  deep;  and  they  also  which  built  rested  a  little. 
Again,  those  six  men  commanded  the  multitude,  that  they  should  bring 
stones  out  of  those  twelve  mountains  to  the  building  of  the  same 
tower.  So  they  cut  out  of  all  the  mountains  stones  of  divers  colours, 
and  brought  them,  and  gave  them  to  the  virgins ;  which  when  they 
had  received,  they  carried  them,  and  delivered  them  into  the  building 
of  the  tower  :  in  which  when  they  were  built,  they  became  white,  and 
different  from  what  they  were  before;  for  they  were  all  alike,  and  did 
change  their  former  colours.  And  some  were  reached  up  by  the  men 
themselves,  which,  when  they  came  into  the  building,  continued  such 
as  they  were  put  in.  These  neither  became  white,  nor  different  from 
what  they  were  before  ;  because  they  were  not  carried  by  the  virgins 
through  the  gate.  Wherefore  these  stones  w7ere  disagreeable  in  the 
building  ;  which  when  those  six  men  perceived,  they  commanded  them 
to  be  removed,  and  put  again  in  the.  place  from  which  they  were 
brought.  And  they  said  to  those  who  brought  those  stones,  «  Do  not 
ye  reach  up  to  us  any  stones  for  this  building,  but  lay  them  down  by 
the  tower,  that  these  virgins  may  carry  them  and  reach  them  to  us. 
For  unless  they  shall  be  carried  by  these  virgins  through  this  gate, 
they  cannot  change  their  colours ;  therefore  do  not  labour  in  vain." 

V.  So  the  building  that  day  was  done,  howbeit  the  tower  was  not 
finished  ;  for  it  was  afterwards  to  be  built ;  therefore  now  also  there 
was  some  delay  made  of  it.  And  these  six  men  commanded  those 
that  built  to  depart,  and,  as  it  were,  to  rest  for  some  time ;  but  they 

0  MS.  Lamb.  Jlscenderunt. 

32 


250  Tin:   SHEPHERD    OF  ST.   HERMAS. 

ordered  those  virgins  that  they  should  not  depart  from  the  tower. 
Now  they  seemed  to  me  to  be  left  for  the  guarding  of  it.  When  all 
were  departed,  I  said  unto  thai  shepherd,  "  Sir,  why  is  not  the  build- 
ing of  the  tower  finished?"  " Because  it  cannot,"  said  he,  "be 
finished  until  its  Lord  comes  and  Bpproves  of  the  building;  that  if  he 
shall  find  any  stones  in  it  that  are  not  good,  they  may  be  changed  ; 

for  this  tower  is  built  according  to  his  will."  "Sir/1  said  I,  "I 
would  know  what  the  building  of  this  tower  signifies ;  as  a!-",  I  would 
be  informed  concerning  this  nick  and  this  gate,  and  concerning  the 
mountains  and  the  virgins,  and  the  stones  that  did  rise  out  of  the  deep, 
and  were  not  cut,  but  put  into  the  building  just  as  they  cam.'  forth; 
and  why  the  icn  Btones  were  first  laid  in  the  foundation;  then  the 
twenty-five;  then  thirty-five;  then  forty?  Also  concerning  those 
stones  that  were  put  into  the  building,  and  again  taken  out,  and  carried 
back  into  their  place  ?  Fulfil,  I  pray,  the  desire  of  my  soul  as  to  all 
these  things,  and  manifest  all  unto  me."  And  he  said  unto  me,  "  If 
thou  shalt  not  be  dull,  thou  shalt  know  all,  and  shalt  see  all  the  other 
things  that  are  about  to  happen  in  this  tower  ;  and  shalt  understand 
diligently  all  these  similitudes."  And  after  a  few  days,  we  came  into 
the  same  place  where  we  had  sat  before  ;  and  he  said  unto  me,  "  Let 
us  go  unto  the  tower ;  for  the  Lord  of  it  will  come  and  examine  it." 
So  we  came  thither,  and  found  none  but  those  virgins  there.  And  he 
asked  them  whether  the  Lord  of  that  tower  was  come  thither?  And 
they  replied  that  he  would  be  there  presently,  to  examine  the  building. 
VI.  After  a  very  little  while  I  saw  a  great  multitude  of  men  coming, 
and  in  the  middle  of  them  a  man  so  tall,  that  he  surpassed  the-tower 
in  height."  About  him  were  tliose  six  who  before  commanded  in  the 
building,  and  all  the  rest  of  those  who  had  built  that  tower,  ami  many 
others  of  great  dignity:  and  tin-  virgins  that  kept  the  tower  ran  to 
m<  el  him,  and  kissed  him,  and  began  to  walk  near  unto  him.  But  he 
examined  'he  buildingwith  so  much  care  that  he  handled  every  stone, 
and  struck  :ie  with  a  rod  which  he  held  in  his  hand:   of  which 

some,  beii  ick,  turned  black  as  soot  ;  others  were  rough;  some 

looked  as  if  they  had  cracks  m  them  ;  others  seemed  maimed  ;  some 
neither  black  nor  white  ;  some  looked  sharp,  ami  agreed  not  with  the 
othi  i  and  others  w<  re  full  <>f  spots.     These  w<  re  the  several 

kinds  of  those  stones  which  were  not  found  proper  in  the  building:  all 
which  the  Lord  commanded  to  be  taken  out  of  the  tower,  and  laid 

Qear  it,  and  other  BtoneS  to  be  brought,  and  put  in  their  places,      And 

the!  that  built  asked  him  from  which  of  'he  mountains  he  would  have 
stones  brOUghl  to  put  in  the  place  of  those  that  were  laid  aside;  but 
he  forbade    them   to    bring   any  from    the    mountains,  and  commanded 

•  Greatness. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  251 

that  they  should  take  them  out  of  a  certain  field  which  was  near  :  so 
they  digged  in  that  field,  and  found  many  bright  square  stones,  and 
some  also  that  were  round.  Howbeit,  all  that  were  found  in  that  field 
were  taken  and  carried  through  the  gate  by  those  virgins ;  and  those 
of  them  that  were  square  were  fitted  and  put  up  into  the  places  of 
those  that  were  pulled  out :  but  the  round  ones  were  not  put  into  the 
building,  because  they  were  too  hard,  and  it  would  have  required  too 
much  time  to  cut  them  ;  but  they  were  placed  about  the  tower,  as  if 
they  should  hereafter  be  cut  square,  and  put  into  the  building ;  for 
they  were  very  white. 

VII.  When  he  who  was  chief  in  dignity,  and  Lord  of  the  whole 
tower,  saw  this,  he  called  to  him  the  shepherd  that  was  with  me,  and 
gave  him  the  stones  that  were  rejected  and  laid  about  the  tower,  and 
said  unto  him,  "  Cleanse  these  stones  with  all  care,  and  fit  them  into 
the  building  of  the  tower,  that  they  may  agree  with  the  rest ;  but  those 
that  will  not  suit  with  the  rest,  cast  away  afar  off  from  the  tower." 
When  he  had  thus  commanded  him,  he  departed  with  all  those  that 
came  with  him  to  the  tower :  but  those  virgins  still  stood  about  the 
tower  to  keep  it.  And  I  said  unto  that  shepherd,  "  How  can  these 
stones,  seeing  they  have  been  rejected,  return  into  the  building  of  this 
tower?"  He  replied,  "I  will  cut  off  the  greatest  part  from  these 
stones,  and  will  add  them  to  the  building,  and  they  will  agree  with  the 
rest."  And  I  said,  "  Sir,  how  will  they  be  able  to  fill  the  same  place, 
when  they  shall  be  so  much  cut  away?"  He  answered,  "  They  that 
shall  be  found  too  little  shall  be  put  into  the  middle  of  the  building, 
and  the  greater  shall  be  placed  without,  and  keep  them  in."  When 
he  had  said  thus  unto  me,  he  added,  "  Let  us  go,  and  after  three  days 
we  will  return,  and  I  will  put  these  stones,  being  cleansed,  into  the 
tower.  For  all  these  that  are  about  the  tower  must  be  cleansed,  lest 
the  master  of  the  house  chance  to  come  upon  the  sudden,  and  find 
those  which  are  about  the  tower  unclean,  and  be  so  exasperated  that 
these  stones"  should  never  be  put  into  the  building  of  this  tower,  and 
I  shall  be  looked  upon  to  have  been  unmindful  of  my  master's  com- 
mands." b  When  therefore  we  came,  after  three  days,  to  the  tower,  he 
said  unto  me,  "  Let  us  examine  all  these  stones,  and  let  us  see  which 
of  them  may  go  into  the  building."     I  answered,  "  Sir,  let  us  see." 

VIII.  And  first  of  all  we  began  to  consider  those  which  had  been 
black;  for  they  were  found  just  such  as  they  were  when  they  were 
pulled  out  of  the  tower:  wherefore  he  commanded  them  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  tower,  and  put  by  themselves.  Then  he  examined 
those  which  had  been  rough  ;  and  commanded  many  of  those  to  be 


a  MS.   Lamb.   Ila  exarperetur,  ut  hi  lapides.  b  MS.  Lamb.  Negligens  patrxs 

familias. 


252  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    IIERMAS. 

cut  round,  and  to  be  fitted  by  the  virgins  into  the  building  of  the 
tower:  so  they  took  them,  and  fitted  them  into  the  middle  of  the 
building;  and  he  commanded  the  rest  to  be  laid  by  with  the  black 

ones,   for  they  also  were   become   black.      Next  he  considered  t] 
which  were  full  of  cracks;   and  many  of  those   also  he  ordered   to  be 

pared  away,  and  bo  to  be  added  to  the  rest  of  the  building,  by  the 
same  virgins;  these  were  placed  without,  because  thej  were  found 
entire;  but  the  residue,  through  the  multitude  of  their  cracks,  could 
not  be  reformed,  and  therefore  were  cast  away  from  the  building  of  the 
tower.  Then  he  considered  those  that  had  been  maimed  ;  many  of 
bad  cracks,  and  were  become  black;  others  had  large  clefts: 
these  be  commanded  to  be  placed  with  those  that  were  rejected;  but 
the  rest,  being  cleansed  and  reformed,  he  commanded  to  be  put  into 
the  building.  These,  therefore,  those  virgins  took  up,  and  fitted  into 
the  middle  of  the  building,  because  they  were  but  weak.  After  t] 
he  examined  those  which  were  found  half  white  and  half  black  ;  and 
many  of  those  were  now  black :  these  also  he  ordered  to  be  laid  among 
those  that  were  cast  away.  The  rest  were  found  altogether  white  ; 
those  were  taken  up  by  the  virgins  and  fitted  into  the  same  tower: 
"and  these  were  put  in  the  outside,  because  they  were  found  entire; 
that  so  they  might  keep  in  those  that  were  placed  in  the  middle,  for 
nothing  was  cut  off  from  them.  Next  he  looked  upon  those  b  which 
had  been  hard  and  sharp;  but  few  of  these  were  made  use  of,  because 
the)  could  not  be  cut,  for  they  were  found  very  hard  :  but  the  rest 
were  formed,  and  fitted  by  the  virgins  into  the  middle  of  the  building, 
because  they  were  more  weak.  Then  he  considered  those  which  had 
:  of  these  a  few  were  found  black,  and  these  were  carried  to 
their  fellows.  The  rest  were  white  and  entire;  and  they  were  fitted 
by  the  virgins  into  the  building,  and  placed  in  the  outside,  by  r 
of  their  strength. 

1\.  After  this,  he  came  to  consider  those  stones  which  were  white 
and  round;  and  he  said  unto  me,  "What  shall  we  do  with  these 
stones;11  I  answered,  "Sir,  I  cannot  tell."  He  replied,  "Canst 
thou  think  of  Doming  then  for  these?"  I  answered,  "Sir,  I  under- 
stand not  this  art  ;  neither  am  I  B  Btone-CUtter,  nor  can  I  tell  any  tl. 
And    he   said,    "  Scrst    thou    not    that   they   are  very   round?      Now  to 

make  them  square,  1  must  cut  off  a  great  deal  from  them;  bowbeit  it 

is   necessary   that    some   of  these   should    go    into   the   building  of  the 

tower."  I  answered,  «  If  it  be  necessary,  why  do  you  perplex  your- 
self, and  not  rather  choose,  it"  you  have  any  choice  among  them,  and 
lit  them  into  the  building  }**  Upon  this  he  chose  out  the  largest  and 
brightest,   and  squared  them;  which  when  he  had  done  the  vii 


•  Vul.  Ms.  Lamb.  editOzon.  i  >lt&Ltm 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  253 

took  them  up,  and  placed  them  in  the  outside  of  the  building.  And 
the  rest  that  remained,  were  carried  back  into  the  same  field  from 
which  they  were  taken  :  howbeit  they  were  not  cast  away,  "  because," 
said  he,  "  there  is  yet  a  little  wanting  to  this  tower,  which  is  to  be 
built;  and  perhaps  the  Lord  will  have  these  stones  fitted  into  this 
building,  because  they  are  exceeding  white."  Then  were  there  called 
twelve  very  stately  women,  clothed  with  a  black  garment,  girded,  and 
their  shoulders  free,  and  their  hair  loose.  These  seemed  to  me  to  be 
country-women.  And  the  shepherd  commanded  them  to  take  up  those 
stones  which  were  cast  out  of  the  building,  and  carry  them  back  to 
the  mountains  out  of  which  they  were  taken.  And  they  took  them  all 
up  joyfully,  and  carried  them  back  to  their  places  from  whence  they 
had  been  taken.  When  not  one  stone  remained  about  the  tower,  he 
said  unto  me,  "  Let  us  go  about  this  tower,  and  see  whether  any  thing 
be  wanting  to  it."  We  began,  therefore,  to  go  round  about  it;  and 
when  he  saw  that  it  was  handsomely  built,  he  began  to  be  very  glad : 
for  it  was  so  beautifully  framed,  that  any  one  that  had  seen  it  must 
have  been  in  love  with  the  building :  for  it  seemed  to  be  all  but  one 
stone,  nor  did  a  joint  anywhere  appear ;  but  it  looked  as  if  it  had  all 
been  cut  out  of  one  rock. 

X.  And  when  I  diligently  considered  what  a  tower  it  was,  I  was 
extremely  pleased ;  and  he  said  unto  me,  "Bring  hither  some  lime 
and  little  shells,  that  I  may  fill  up  the  spaces"  of  those  stones  that  were 
taken  out  of  the  building,  and  put  in  again ;  for  all  things  about  the 
tower  must  be  made  even."  And  I  did  as  he  commanded  me,  and 
brought  them  unto  him ;  and  he  said  unto  me,  "  Be  ready  to  help  me, 
and  this  work  will  quickly  be  finished."  He  therefore  filled  up  th - 
spaces  of  those  stones,  and  commanded  the  place  about  the  tower  to 
be  cleansed.  Then  those  virgins  took  besoms,  and  cleansed  all  the 
place  around,  and  took  away  all  the  rubbish,  and  threw  on  water ; 
which  being  done,  the  place  became  delightful,  and  the  tower  beau- 
teous. Then  he  said  unto  me,  "  All  is  now  clean:  if  the  Lord  should 
come  to  finish  the  tower,  he  will  find  nothing  whereby  to  complain  of 
us."  When  he  had  said  this,  he  would  have  departed,  but  I  laid  hold 
on  his  bag,  and  began  to  entreat  him,  for  the  Lord's  sake,  that  he  would 
explain  to  me  all  things  that  he  had  shown  me.  He  said  unto  me, 
"I  have  at  present  a  little  business  ;  but  I  will  suddenly  explain  all 
things  unto  thee.  Tarry  here  for  me  till  I  come."  I  said  unto  him, 
"Sir,  what  shall  I  do  here  alone?"  He  answered,  "Thou  art  not 
alone,  seeing  all  these  virgins  are  with  thee."  I  said,  "Sir,  deliver 
me  then  unto  them."  Then  he  called  them,  and  said  unto  them,  "I 
commend  this  man  unto  vou  till  I  shall  come."     So  I  remained  with 


a  For  mas. —  Lat 

Y 


254  THE   SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

those  virgins.  Now  they  were  cheerful  and  courteous  unto  me ; 
especially  the  four,  which  seemed  to  be  the  chiefest  among  them. 

XI.  Then  those  rifgintsaid  unto  me,  "That  shepherd  will  not 
return  hither  to-day."  I  said  unto  tbem,  "What  then  shall  I  do?" 
They  answered,  "Tarn  for  him  till  the  evening,  if  perhaps  he  may 
come  and  speak  with  thee;  but  if  not,  yet  thou  shalt  continue  with  us 
till  he  me."  I  said  unto  them,  "  I  will  tarry  for  him  till  even- 
ing; but  if  he  comes  nol  by  that  time,  I  will  go  home  and  return 
hither  again  the  oext   morning."     They  answered  me,  "Thoi 

delivered  unto  US;   thou  mayst  not  depart  from  US."      I  said,  "Where 

shall  I  fair.  :"'  'I'ii'}  replied,  "Thou  shalt  sleep  with  us  as  a  bro- 
ther, !  husband  ;  for  thou  art  our  brother,  and  we 
from  henceforth  to  dwell  with  thee;  for  thou  art  very  dear  to  us." 
Howbeit  I  was  ashamed  to  continue  with  them.  But  she  that  seemed 
to  be  the  chiefest  among  them,  embraced  me,  and  began  to  kiss  me. 
And  the  rest,  when  they  saw  that  I  was  kissed  by  her,  began  also  to 
me  as  a  brother;  and  led  me  about  the  tower,  and  played  with 
me.  Some  of  them  also  sung  psalms,  others  made  up  the  chorus 
with  them.  But  I  walked  about  the  tower  with  them,  rejoicing 
silently,  and  seeming  to  myself  to  be  grown  young  again.  When  the 
evening  came  on,  I  would  forthwith  have  gone  home,  but  they  with- 
held me,  and  suffered  me  not  to  depart.  Wherefore  I  continued  with 
them  that  night  near  the  same  tower.  So  they  spread  their  linen  gar- 
ments upon  the  ground,  and  placed  me  in  the  middle  ;  nor  did  they 
any  thing  else,  only  the)  prayed.  I  also  prayed  with  them  without 
ceasing,  no  less  than  they;  who,  when  they  saw  me  pray  in  that  man- 
ner, rejoiced  greatly;  audi  continued  therewith  them  till  the  next 
day.  And  when  we  had  worshipped  God,  then  the  shepherd  came 
and  said  unto  them,  "  You  have  done  no  injury  to  this  man?'1  They 
answered,  ''Ask  him."  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  T  have  received  a 
greal  deal  of  satisfaction  in  that  I  have  remained  with  them."  And  he 
said  unto  me,  tt  l[nw  didst  thou  sup?"  I  answered,  m  Sir,  I  feasted 
the  whole  night  upon  the  words  of  the  Lord."  "They  received  thee 
well,  then,"  said  he.  I  said,  «  Sir,  very  well."  He  answered, 
"Wilt  thou  now  learn  what  thou  didst  desire?"    I  replied,  "Sir,  I 

will;  and,  first,  I  pray  thee  that  thou  WOuldst  show  me  all  things  in  the 

order  that  I  asked  them."      He  answered,  " I  will  do  all  as  thou 

WOuldst  have  me,  nor  will  I  hide  any  tiling  from  th< 

XII.  -  Pint  of  all,  Sir,"  said  I,  "tell  me  what  this  rock  and  this 
gate  denote."    «  Hearken,"  said  he,  "this  rock  and  this  gate  are  the 

Son  of  God."  I  replied,  "Sir,  how  can  that  be,  seeing  the  roek  is 
old,  hut  the  gate  new?"  "Hear,"  said  he,  «0  foolish  man!  and 
understand.       The  Son   of  God  is,   indeed,   more  ancient   than   any 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  255 

creature;  "insomuch  that  he  was  in  counsel  with  his  Father  at  the 
creation  of  all  things."  But  the  gate  is,  therefore,  new,  because  he 
appeared  in  the  last  days,  at  the  fulness  of  time  ;  that  they  who  shall 
attain  unto  salvation,  may  by  it  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  You 
have  seen,"  said  he,  "  those  stones  which  were  carried  through  the 
gate,  how  they  were  placed  in  the  building  of  the  tower;  but  that 
those  which  were  not  carried  through  the  gate,  were  sent  away  into 
their  own  places  ?"  I  answered,  "Sir,  I  saw  it."  "Thus,"  said  he, 
"  no  man  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  he  who  shall  take 
upon  him  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God.  For  if  you  would  enter  into 
any  city,  and  that  city  should  be  encompassed  with  a  wall,  and  had 
only  one  gate,  could  you  enter  into  that  city  except  by  that  gate  ?"  I 
answered,  "  Sir,  how  could  I  do  otherwise?"  "As,  therefore,"  said 
he,  «  there  would  be  no  other  way  of  entering  into  that  city  but  by  its 
gate,  so  neither  can  any  one  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  only 
by  the  name  of  his  Son,  who  is  most  dear  unto  him."  And  he  said 
unto  me,  "  Didst  thou  see  the  multitude  of  those  that  built  the  tower?" 
"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  saw  it."  He  answered,  "  All  those  are  the  angels, 
venerable  in  their  dignity.  With  these  is  the  Lord  encompassed  as 
with  a  wall ;  but  the  gate  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  only  way  of 
coming  unto  God.  For  no  man  shall  go  to  Go/1,  but  by  his  Son. 
Thou  sawest  also,"  said  he,  "  the  six  men,  and  in  the  middle  of  them 
that  venerable  great  man,  who  walked  about  the  tower,  and  rejected 
the  stones  out  of  the  tower?"  "Sir,"  said  I,  "I  saw  them."  He 
answered,  "  That  tall  man  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  those  six  were 
his  angels  of  most  eminent  dignity,  which  stand  about  him  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left.  Of  these  excellent  angels  none  comes  in 
unto  God  without  him."  He  added,  "Whosoever,  therefore,  shall 
not  take  upon  him  his  name,  he  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

XIII.  Then  I  said,  "What  is  this  tower?"  "This,"  said  he,  "is 
the  church."  "  And  what,  Sir,  are  these  virgins  ?"  He  said  unto  me, 
"  These  are  the  holy  spirits ;  for  no  man  can  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  except  these  clothe  him  with  their  garment.  For  it  will  avail 
thee  nothing  to  take  up  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  unless  thou  shalt 
also  receive  their  garment  from  them.  For  these  virgins  are  the  powers 
of  the  Son  of  God.  So  shall  a  man  in  vain  bear  his  name,  unless  he 
shall  also  be  endued  with  his  powers."  And  he  said  unto  me,  "  Sawest 
thou  those  stones  that  were  cast  away  ?  They  bore,  indeed,  the  name, 
but  put  not  on  their  garment."  I  said,  "  Sir,  what  is  their  garment?" 
c"  Their  very  names,"  said  he,  "are  their  garment.  Therefore  who- 
soever beareth  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God  ought  to  bear  their  names 

x  Ita  u!. — Lat.  *  The  matures.  ■  Vid   Aunot.  edit.  Oxon.  p.  1 16,  d. 


256  Tin;   SHEPHERD   OF   ST.    HERMA8. 

also;  f<»r  the  Son  of  God  also  himself  beareth  their  names.  As  for 
stones,"  continued  he,  "which  being  delivered  by  their  hands, 
thou  rawest  remain  in  the  building,  thej  were  clothed  with  their  power: 
for  which  cause  thou  .seest  the  whole  tower  of  the  same"  colour  with 
the  rock,  and  made,  afl  if  were,  ofone  stone.  So  also  those  who  have 
believed  in  God  by  his  Son,  have  put  on  this  spirit.  Behold,  there 
shall  1"  one  Spirit,  and  one  body,  and  one  colour  of  their  garments: 
and  all  they  shall  attain  this  who  shall  bear  the  names  ol  ti  ^ins." 

And  I  said,  "Sir,  why  then  were  those  stones  cast  away  which  were 
rejected  :  seeing  they  also  were  carried  through  the  gate,  and  delivered 
by  die  hands  of  these  virgins  into  the  building  of  this  tower  ?"  « 
fog,"  said  he,  "thou  takest  care  to  inquire  diligently  into  all  things, 
hear  also  concerning  those  stones  which  were  rejected.  All  these 
received  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  with  that  the  power  of  these 
virgins.  Having  therefore  received  these  spirits,  they  were  perfected 
and  brought  into  the  number  of  the  servants  of  God ;  and  they  began 
to  be  one  body,  and  to  have  one  garment ;  for  they  were  "endued  with 
the  same  righteousness  which  they  alike  exercised.  But  after  that  they 
beheld  those  women  which  thou  sawest  clothed  with  a  black  garment, 
with  their  shoulders  at  liberty  and  their  hair  loose,  they  fixed  their 
desires  upon  them,  Jjeing  tempted  with  their  beauty  ;  and  were  cl 
with  their  power,  and  cast  off  the  clothing  of  the  virgins;  therefore 
were  they  cast  off  from  the  house  of  God,  and  delivered  to  those 
women.  But  the)  that  were  not  corrupted  with  their  beauty,  remained 
in  the  house  of  God.  This,"  said  he,  "is  the  signification  of  those 
which  were  rejected." 
XI\  .  And  I  sail!,  «  Sir,  what  if  any  of  these  men  shall  repent,  and 
cast  away  their  desire  of  those  women,  and  be  converted,  and  return 
to  these  virgins,  and  put  on  again  their  virtue;  shall  they  not  enter  into 
;he  house  of  God?"  "They  shall  enter,"  said  he,  "if  they  shall  lay 
aside  all  the  works  of  those  women,  and  shall  resume  the  power  of 
ins,  and  shall  walk  in  their  works.  And  for  this  cause  there 
ifl  a  Stop  in  the  building,  that  it  they  shall  repent,  they  may  lie  added 
to  the  building  of  this  tower;  but  if  they  shall  not  repent,  that  others 
may  be  built  in  their  places,  and  SO  they  may  be  utterly  cast  aw 
For  all  these  thi       1      ve  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  that  being  moved  with 

mercy  towards  all  those  upon  whom    his  name    ifl    called,  he  sent  to  US 

the  angel  of  repentance,  to  preside  over  us  who  have  sinned  against 

him;  and  that  be  OSS  refreshed  our  Spirits,  which  were  almost  gone, 
and  who  had  DO  bope  of  sahation,  but  are  imw  refresh  d  to  the  renewal 
of  life.      Tt    a  I  said,  lt  Show  me  now.  Sir,  why  this  lower  is  not  built 


•  Vid.  Origan.  PhilocaL  <••  viii.        tfkntubamt  a-tjuitaiem. —  Lit  from  tin-  Qr<  %**■*< 

but  tin-  trur  reading  o\  H.-nnis  MMMth  t.>  have  bail  «.',•    • 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  257 

Upon  the  ground,  but  upon  a  rock,  and  upon  the  gate?"  He  replied, 
"Thou  art  foolish,  and  without  understanding,  therefore  thou  askest 
this."  And  I  said,  "  Sir,  I  must  needs  ask  all  things  of  you,  because 
I  understand  nothing  at  all.  For  all  your  answers  are  great  and 
excellent,  and  which  a  man  can  hardly  understand."  "  Hear,"  said 
he  ;  "  The  name  of  the  Son  of  God  is  great,  and  without  bounds,  and 
the  whole  world  is  supported  by  it."  "If,  therefore,"  said  I,  «  every 
creature  of  God  be  sustained  by  his  Son,  why  should  he  not  support 
those  also  who  have  been  invited  by  him,  and  who  carry  his  name  and 
walk  in  his  commandments  ?"  "  Seest  thou  not,"  said  he,  " that  he 
does  support  them,  who  with  all  their  heart  bear  his  name  ?  He  there- 
fore is  their  foundation,  and  gladly  supports  those  who  do  not  deny  his 
name,  but  willingly  bear  it." 

XV.  And  I  said,  "  Sir,  tell  me  the  names  of  these  virgins,  and  of 
those  women  that  were  clothed  with  the  black  garment."  "Hear," 
said  he,  "  the  names  of  those  virgins  who  are  the  more  powerful,  and 
stand  at  the  corners  of  the  gate.  These  are  their  names :  the  first  is 
called  "Faith;  the  second,  Continence;  the  third,  Power;  the  fourth, 
Patience :  the  rest,  which  stand  beneath  these,  are  Simplicity,  Inno- 
cence, Chastity,  Cheerfulness,  Truth,  Understanding,  Concord,  Charity. 
Whosoever  therefore  bear  these  names,  and  the  name  of  the  Son  of 
God,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Hear  now,"  said  he,  "the 
names  of  those  women  who  were  clothed  with  the  black  garment.  Of 
these,  four  are  the  principal :  the  first  is  Perfidiousness ;  the  second, 
Incontinence ;  the  third,  Infidelity ;  the  fourth,  Pleasure.  And  the 
rest  which  follow  are  called  thus :  Sadness,  Malice,  Lust,  Anger,  Lying, 
Foolishness,  Pride,  and  Hatred.  The  servant  of  God,  which  carries 
these  spirits,  shall  see  indeed  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  he  shall  not 
enter  into  it."  "  But,  Sir,  what  are  those  stones  which  were  taken  out 
of  the  deep,  and  fitted  into  the  building  ?"  "  The  ten,"  said  he, 
"which  were  placed  at  the  foundation,  are  the  first  age;  the  following 
five- and- twenty,  the  second,  of  righteous  men  ;  the  next  thirty- five,  are 
the  prophets  and  ministers  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  forty,  are  the  apostles 
and  doctors  of  the  preaching  of  the  Son  of  God."  And  I  said,  "  Sir, 
why  did  the  virgins  put  even  those  stones  into  the  building,  after  they 
were  carried  through  the  gate  ?"  And  he  said,  "  Because  these  first 
carried  those  spirits,  and  they  departed  not  one  from  the  other,  neither 
the  men  from  the  spirits,  nor  the  spirits  from  the  men ;  but  the  spirits 
were  joined  to  those  men  even  to  the  day  of  their  death  ;  who  if  they 
had  not  had  these  spirits  with  them,  they  could  not  have  been  useful 
to  the  building  of  this  tower." 

XVI.  And  I  said,  "  Sir,  show  me  this  farther."     He  answered, 

•  Origen.  Horn.  1 3  in  Ezek. 

33  y2 


259  THE   SHEPHERD    OF  ST.    HERMAS. 

"What  dost  thou  ask?''  "  Why  did  these  stones  come  out  of  the 
deep,  and  were  placed  into  the  building  of  this  tower,  seeing  that  they 
long  ago  carried  those  holy"  spirits  ?"  b"  It  was  necessary,"  said  he, 
"  for  them  to  ascend  by  water,  that  they  might  be  at  rest.  For  they 
could  not  otherwise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  by  laying  aside 
the  mortality  of  their  former  life.  They  therefore,  being  dead,  were 
nevertheless  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  so  entered  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.  For  before  a  man  receives  the  name  of  the  Son 
of  God,  he  is  ordained  unto  death;  but  when  he  receives  that  seal,  he 
is  freed  from  death,  and  c  assigned  unto  life.  Now  that  seal  is  the 
water  of  baptism,  into  which  men  go  down  under  the  obligation  unto 
death,  but  come  up  appointed  unto  life.  Wherefore  to  those  also  was 
this  seal  d  preached  ;  and  they  made  use  of  it,  that  they  might  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God."  And  I  said,  "  Why  then,  Sir,  did  these  forty 
stones  also  ascend  with  them  out  of  the  deep,  having  already  received 
that  seal  ?"  He  answered,  "  Because  these  apostles  and  teachers,  who 
preached  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  dying  after  they  had  received 
his  faith  and  power,  preached  to  them  who  were  dead  before  ;  and  they 
gave  this  seal  to  them.  They  went  down,  therefore,  into  the  water 
with  them,  and  again  came  up.  But  these  went  down  whilst  they 
were  alive,  and  came  up  again  alive ;  whereas  those,  who  were  before 
dead,  went  down  dead,  but  came  up  alive.  Through  these,  therefore, 
they  received  life,  and  knew  the  Son  of  God  ;  for  which  cause  they 
came  up  with  them,  and  were  fit  to  come  into  the  building  of  the  tower ; 
and  were  not  cut,  but  put  in  entire ;  because  they  died  in  righteousness, 
and  in  great  purity ;  only  this  seal  was  wanting  to  them.  Thus  you 
have  the  explication  of  these  things." 

XVII.  I  answered,  "Sir,  tell  me  now  what  concerns  those  moun- 
tains, why  they  are  so  different ;  some  of  one  form,  and  some  of  an- 
other." "  Hear!"  said  he ;  "these  twelve  mountains  which  thou  seest 
are  twelve  nations,  which  make  up  the  whole  world.  Wherefore  the 
Son  of  God  is  preached  to  them,  by  those  whom  he  sent  unto  them." 
"But  why,1'  said  T,  "are  they  different,  and  every  one  of  a  figure?" 
He  replied,  "  Hearken!  Those  twelve  nations  which  possess  the  whole 
world,  are  twelve  people;  and  as  thou  hast  beheld  these  mountains 
different,  so  are  they.  I  will,  therefore,  open  to  thee  the  meaning  and 
actions  of  every  mountain."  "But  first,  Sir,11  said  I,  "show  me 
this:  seeing  these  mountains  are  so  different,  how  hare  they  agreed  into 
the  building  of  this  tower,  and  been  brought  to  one  colour;  and  are  DO 
less  bright  than  those  which  came  out  of  the  deep?"     tk  1»<  ca 

replied  he,  "  all  the  nations  which  arc   under  hea\eii  have  heard  and 

a  Jut/to^  righfteoo*  L  edit  Oxoo.  p.  171,  b.  c  TmJitur.  deft 

*  Vid.  Dottier.  Amot  in  loc.  p.  77,  78,    Comp.  l  ivt.  iii.  19.  ■  Vid.  Okm 

^truin.  li.  ct  vi. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  259 

believed  in  the  same  one  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  by  whom  they  are 
called.  Wherefore,  having  received  his  seal,  they  have  all  been  made 
partakers  of  the  same  understanding"  and  knowledge  ;  "and  their  faith 
and  charity  have  been  the  same ;  and  they  have  carried  the  spirits  of 
these  virgins  together  with  his  name.  And  therefore  the  building  of 
this  tower  appeared  to  be  of  the  same  colour,  and  did  shine  like  the 
brightness  of  the  sun.  But  after  they  had  thus  agreed  in  one  mind, 
there  began  to  be  one  body  of  them  all :  howbeit  some  of  them  polluted 
themselves,  and  were  cast  off  from  the  kind  of  the  righteous,  and  again 
returned  to  their  former  state,  and  became  even  worse  than  they  were 
before." 

XVIII.  "  How,"  said  I,  «  Sir,  were  they  worse  who  knew  the  Lord  ?" 
He  answered,  "If  he  who  knows  not  the  Lord  Jiveth  wickedly,  the 
punishment  of  his  wickedness  attends  him.  But  he  who  has  known 
the  Lord  ought  to  abstain  altogether  from  all  wickedness,  and  more 
and  more  to  be  the  servant  of  righteousness.  And  does  not  he  then 
seem  to  thee  to  sin  .more  who  ought  to  follow  goodness,  if  he  shall 
prefer  the  part  of  sin,  than  he  who  offends  without  knowing  the  power r 
of  God?  Wherefore,  these  are,  indeed,  ordained  unto  death;  but  they 
who  have  known  the  Lord,  and  have  seen  his  wonderful  works,  if  they 
shall  live  wickedly,  they  shall  be  doubly  punished,  and  shall  die  for 
ever.  As  therefore  thou  hast  seen,  that  after  the  stones  were  cast  out 
of  the  tower,  which  had  been  rejected,  they  were  delivered  to  wicked 
and  cruel  spirits ;  and  thou  beheldest  the  tower  so  cleansed,  as  if  it  had 
all  been  made  of  one  stone  ;  d  so  the  church  of  God,  when  it  shall  be 
purified,  (the  wicked"  and  counterfeits,  the  mischievous f and  doubtful, 
and  all  that  have  behaved  themselves  wickedly  in  it,  and  committed 
divers  kinds  of  sin,  being  cast  out,)  shall  become  one  body;  and  there 
shall  be  one  understanding,  one  opinion,  one  faith,  and  the  same  cha- 
rity ;  and  then  shall  the  Son  of  God  rejoice  among  them,  and  shall 
receive  his  people  with  a  pure  will."  And  I  said,  "  Sir,  all  these 
things  are  great  and  honourable ;  but  now  show  unto  me  the  eflect  and 
force  of  every  mountain ;  that  every  soul  which  trusteth  in  the  Lord, 
when  it  shall  hear  these  things,  may  honour  his  great,  and  wonderful, 
and  holy  name!"  «  Hear,"  said  he,  "the  variety  of  these  mountains, 
that  is,  of  the  twelve  nations : — 

XIX.  "  They  who  have  believed  of  the  first  mountain,  which  is 
black,  are  those  who  have  revolted  from  the  faith,  and  spoken  wicked 
things  against  the  Lord,  and  betrayed  the  servants  of  God.  These  are 
condemned  to  death ;  there  is  no  repentance  for  them ;  and  therefore 
they  are  black,  because  their  kind  is  wicked.     Of  the  second  moun- 


°  Prudence.  b  Sense.  *  Lat.  VirtuUm.  d  Vid.  Orig.  Philocal.  c.  viii. 

;  Evil        f  Profligate. 


260         THE  SHEPHERD  OF  ST.  HERMA8. 

tain,  which  was  smooth,  are  the  hypocrites,"  who  have  believed,  and 
the  teachers  of  naughtiness  ;  and  these  are  next  to  the  foregoing,  which 
have  not  in  them  the  fruit  of  righteousness.  For  as  their  mountain  is 
barren,  and  without  fruit,  so  also  such  kind  of  men  have,  indeed,  the 
name  of  Christians,  but  are  empty  of  faith;  nor  is  there  any  fruit  of  the 
truth  in  them.  Nevertheless  there  is  room  left  to  them  for  repentance, 
if  they  shall  suddenly  pursue  it;  but  if  they  shall  delay,  they  also  shall 
be  partakers  of  death  with  the  foregoing  kind."  I  said,  «  Sir,  why  is 
there  room  left  to  (hose  for  repentance,  and  not  to  the  foregoing  kind, 
seeing  their  sins  are  wellnigh  the  same?"  "  There  is,  therefore,"  said 
he,  "  to  these  a  return  unto  life  by  repentance,  because  they  have  not 
blasphemed  against  their  Lord,  nor  betrayed  the  servants  of  God;  but 
by  their  desire  of  gain  have  deceived  men,  leading  them  according  to 
the  lusts  of  sinners ;  wherefore  they  shall  suffer  for  this  thing.  Howbeit 
there  is  still  left  them  room  for  repentance,  because  they  have  not 
spoken  any  thing  wickedly  against  their  Lord. 

XX.  «  They  who  are  of  the  third  mountain,  which  had  thorns  and 
brambles,  are  those  who  believed,  but  were  some  of  them  rich,  others 
taken  up  with  many  affairs :  the  brambles  are  their  riches ;  the  thorns, 
those  affairs  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Now  they  who  are  entangled 
in  much  business,  and  in  diversity  of  affairs,  join  not  themselves  to  the 
servants  of  God,  but  wander,  being  called  away  by  those  affairs  with 
which  they  are  choked  ;  and  so  they  which  are  rich,  with  difficulty 
yield  themselves  to  the  "conversation  of  the  servants  of  God ;  fearing 
lest  any  thing  should  be  asked  of  them.  These  therefore  shall  hardly 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  For  as  men  walk  with  difficulty  bare- 
foot over  thorns,  even  so  these  kind  of  men  shall  scarcely  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Nevertheless  there  is  afforded  to  all  these  a 
return  unto  repentance  ;  if  so  be  they  shall  quickly  return  to  it ;  that 
because  in  their  former  days  they  have  neglected  to  work,  in  the  time 
that  is  to  come  they  may  do  some  good.  If  therefore,  having  repented, 
they  .shall  do  the  works  of  righteousness,  they  shall  live;  but  if  they 
shall  continue  in  their  evil  courses,  they  shall  be  delivered  to  those 
women  that  will  take  away  their  life. 

XXI.  "As  for  the  fourth  mountain,  which  had  many  herbs,  the 
upper  part  of  which  is  green,  but  the  roots  dry,  and  some  of  which 
being  touched  with  the  heat  of  the  sun,  are  withered]  it  denotes  the 
doubtful,  who  have  believed,  and  some  others  who  cany  the  Lord  in 
their  tongues,  but  hive  him  not  in  their  heart  :  therefore  their  txrasx  is 
dry,  and  without  root  ;  because  they  live  only  in  words,  but  their  works 

are  dead.    These  therefore  are  neither  dead  nor  living,  and  withal  are 

doubtful.     For  the  doubtful  are  neither  green  nor  dry  :   that  is,  neither 
a  Fnzned.  b  Vi.l.  edit.  OXOQ.  p.  178,  not.  b. 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  261 

dead  nor  alive.  For  as  the  herbs  dry  away  at  the  sight  of  the  sun,  so 
the  doubtful,  as  soon  as  they  hear  of  persecution,  and  fear  inconve- 
niences, return  to  their  idols,  and  again  serve  them,  and  are  ashamed 
to  bear  the  name  of  their  Lord.  This  kind  of  men  then  is  neither  dead 
nor  alive ;  nevertheless  these  also  may  live,  if  they  shall  presently 
repent :  but  if  not,  they  shall  be  delivered  to  those  women,  who  shall 
take  away  their  life. 

XXII.  «  As  concerning  the  fifth  mountain,  that  is  craggy,  and  yet 
has  green  grass ;  they  are  of  this  kind  who  have  believed,  and  are 
faithful  indeed,  but  believe  with  difficulty ;  and  are  bold,  and  self-con- 
ceited ;  that  would  be  thought  to  know  all  things,  but  really  know 
nothing.  Wherefore,  by  reason  of  this  confidence  knowledge  is  de- 
parted from  them;  and  a  rash  presumption  is  entered  into  them.  But 
they  carry  themselves  high,  and  as  prudent  men  ;  and  though  they  are 
fools,  yet  would  seem  to  be  teachers.  Now,  by  reason  of  this  folly, 
many  of  them,  whilst  they  magnify  themselves,  are  become  vain  and 
empty.  For  boldness  and  vain  confidence  is  a  very  evil  spirit.0  Where- 
fore many  of  these  are  cast  away ;  but  others,  acknowledging  their 
error,  have  repented,  and  submitted  themselves  to  those  who  are 
knowing :  and  to  all  the  rest  of  this  kind  there  is  repentance  allowed ; 
forasmuch  as  they  were  not  so  much  wicked  as  foolish  and  void  of 
understanding.  If  these,  therefore,  shall  repent,  they  shall  live  unto 
God ;  but  if  not,  they  shall  dwell  with  those  women,  who  shall  exercise 
their  wickedness  upon  them. 

XXIII.  «  For  what  concerns  the  sixth  mountain,  having  greater 
and  lesser  clefts,  they  are  such  as  have  believed ;  but  those  in  which 
were  lesser  clefts  are  they  who  have  had  controversies  among  them- 
selves, and  by  reason  of  their  quarrels  languish  in  the  faith  :  neverthe- 
less many  of  these  have  repented,  and  so  will  the  rest  when  they  shall 
hear  my  commands ;  for  their  controversies  are  but  small,  and  they 
will  easily  return  unto  repentance.  But  those  who  have  the  greater 
clefts,  wrill  be  as  stiff  stones,  mindful  of  grudges  and  offences,  and  full 
of  anger  among  themselves.  These,  therefore,  are  cast  from  the  tower, 
and  refused  to  be  put  into  its  building ;  for  this  kind  of  men  shall 
hardly  live.  Our  God  and  Lord,  who  ruleth  over  all  things,  and  has 
power  over  all  his  creatures,  will  not  remember  our  offences,  but  is 
easily  appeased  by  those  who  confess  their  sins ;  but  man,  being  lan- 
guid, mortal,  infirm,  and  full  of  sins,  perseveres  in  his  anger  against 
man ;  as  if  it  were  in  his  power  to  save  or  to  destroy  him.  But  I,  as 
the  angel  who  am  set  over  your  repentance,  admonish  you,  that  who- 
soever among  you  has  any  such  purpose,  he  should  lay  it  aside,  and 
return  unto  repentance,  and  the  Lord  will  heal  your  former  sins,  if  you 

a  Magnum  dccmonium. 


262  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.   IIERMAS. 

shall  purge  yourselves  from  this  evil  spirit ;  but  if  ye  shall  not  do  it,  ye 
shall  be  delivered  to  him  unto  death. 

XXIV.  "As  for  the  seventh  mountain,  in  which  the  grass  was  green 
and  flourishing,  and  the  whole  mountain  fruitful,  and  all  kind  of  cattle 
fed  upon  the  grass  of  it,  and  the  more  the  grass  was  eaten,  so  much 
the  more  it  flourished  ;  they  are  such  as  believed,  and  were  always 
good  and  upright,  and  without  any  differences  among  themselves,  but 
still  rejoiced  in  the  servants  of  God,  having  put  on  the  spirit  of  these 
virgins,  and  been  always  forward  to  show  mercy  to  all  lm  Q,  readil) 
giving  to  all  men  of  their  labours,  without  upbraiding,  and  without 
deliberation.     Wherefore  the  Lord,  seeing  their  simplicity  and  inno- 

,:  has  increased  them  in  the  works  of  their  hands,  and  given  them 
in  all  their  works.  But  I,  who  am  the  angel  appointed  over  your 
repentance,  exhort  you,  that  as  many  as  are  of  this  kind  would  con- 
tinue in  the  same  purpose,  that  your  seed  may  not  be  rooted  out  for 
ever.  For  the  Lord  hath  tried  you,  and  written  you  into  our  number ; 
and  all  your  seed  shall  dwell  with  the  Son  of  God;  for  ye  are  all  of 
his  spirit. 

XXV.  "  As  concerning  the  eighth  mountain,  in  which  were  a  great 
many  springs,  by  which  every  kind  of  all  the  creatures  of  God  was 
watered  ;  they  are  such  as  have  believed  the  apostles  which  the  Lord 
sent  into  the  world  to  preach;  and  bsome  of  them,  being  teachers, 
have  preached  and  taught  purely  and  sincerely,  and  have  not  in  the 
least  yielded  to  any  evil  desires,  but  have  constantly  walked  in  right- 
eousness and  truth.  These,  therefore,  have  their  conversation  am 
the  ai,_ 

XXVI.  "Again;  as  for  what  concerns  the  ninth  mountain,  which 
is  desert,  and  full  of  serpents,  they  are  such  as  have  believed,  but  had 
many  stains ;  these  are  such  ministers  as  discharge  their  ministry 
amiss,  ravishing  away  the  goods  of  the  widows  and  fatherless,  and 

themselves,  not  others,  out  of  those  things  which  they  have  re- 
ceived. These,  if  they  continue  in  this  covetousness,  have  delivered 
themselves  unto  death  ;  nor  shall  there  be  any  hope  of  life  for  them. 
But  if  they  shall  be  converted,  and  .shall  discharge  their  ministry  mu- 
Cerely,  they  may  live-.      As  for  those  which  were  found  rough,  lb 

such  as  have  denied  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  not  returned  again  to 
the  Lord,  but  have  become  savage  and  wild,  not  applying  them- 
to  the  servants  of  God ;  but  being  separated  from  them,  have  for  a 

little  Carefulness  lost    their  lives.       Fdl   as  a  vine   that    is  forsaken  in  a 

e,  and  never  dressed,  perishes  and  is  choked  by  the  weeds,  and  in 

time  becomes  wild,  and  ceases  to  be  useful  to  its  Lord,  so  this  kind  of 
men,  despairing  of  themselves,  and   being  soured,  have   begun  to  be 

0  lnfannj.  ►  MS.  Lamb.  F.t  </»-■'  UMJUJUg  f*L 


HIS    SIMILITUDES.  263 

unprofitable  to  their  Lord.  Howbeit  to  these  there  is,  after  all,  repent- 
ance allowed,  if  they  shall  not  be  found  from  their  hearts  to  have  denied 
Christ :  but  if  any  of  these  shall  be  found  to  have  denied  him  from  his 
heart,  I  cannot  tell  whether  such  a  one  can  attain  unto  life.  I  say, 
therefore,  that  if  any  one  have  denied,  he  should  in  these  days  return 
unto  repentance ;  for  it  cannot  be  that  any  one  who  now  denies  the 
Lord  can  afterwards  attain  unto  salvation :  nevertheless,  repentance  is 
proposed  unto  them  who  have  formerly  denied.  But  he  who  will 
repent,  must  hasten  on  his  repentance,  before  the  building  of  this  tower 
is  finished ;  otherwise  he  shall  be  delivered  by  those  women  unto  death. 
But  they  that  are  maimed,  are  the  deceitful ;  and  those  who  mix  with 
one  another,  these  are  the  serpents  that  you  saw  mingled  in  that 
mountain.  For  as  the  poison  of  serpents  is  deadly  unto  men,  so  the 
words  of  such  persons  infect  and  destroy  men.  They  are,  therefore, 
maimed  in  their  faith,  by  reason  of  that  kind  of  life  which  they  lead. 
Howbeit  some  of  them,  having  repented,  have  been  saved ;  and  so 
shall  others  of  the  same  kind  be  also  saved,  if  they  shall  repent;  but 
if  not,  they  shall  die  by  those  women  whose  power  and  force  they 
possess. 

30CVII.  "For  what  concerns  the  tenth  mountain,  in  which  were 
the  trees  covering  the  cattle  ;  they  are  such  as  have  believed,  and  some 
of  them  been  bishops,  that  is,  governors  of  the  churches :  others  are 
such  stones  as  have  not  feignedly,  but  with  a  cheerful  mind,  entertained 
the  servants  of  God.  Then,  such  as  have  been  set  over  inferior  minis- 
tries, and  have  protected  the  poor  and  the  widows,  and  have  always 
kept  a  chaste  conversation ;  therefore,  they  also  are  protected  by  the 
Lord.  Whosoever  shall  do  on  this  wTise,  are  honoured  with  the  Lord, 
and  their  place  is  among  the  angels,  if  they  shall  continue  to  obey  the 
Lord  even  unto  the  end. 

XXVIII.  «  As  to  the  eleventh  mountain,  in  which  were  trees  loaded 
with  several  sorts  of  fruit ;  they  are  such  as  have  believed,  and  suffered 
death  for  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  have  endured  with  a  ready  mind, 
and  have  given  up  their  lives  with  all  their  hearts."  And  I  said, 
"  Why  then,  Sir,  have  all  these  fruit  indeed,  but  yet  some  fairer  than 
others  ?"  "  Hearken !"  said  he,  "  whosoever  have  suffered  for  the 
name  of  the  Lord  are  esteemed  honourable  by  the  Lord ;  and  all  their 
offences  are  blotted  out,  because  they  have  suffered  death  for  the  name 
of  the  Son  of  God.  Hear  now  why  their  fruits  are  different,  and  some 
of  them  excel  others.  They  who,  being  brought  before  magistrates, 
and  being  asked,  denied  not  the  Lord,  but  suffered  with  a  ready  mind; 
these  are  more  honourable  with  the  Lord.  The  fruits,  therefore,  that 
are  the  most  fair  are  these.  But  they  who  were  fearful  and  doubtful, 
and  have  deliberated  with  themselves  whether  they  should  confess  or 


264  THE    SHEPriERD    OF    ST.    BERM4 

deny  Christ,  and  yet  have  suffered,  their  fruits  are  smaller,  because  that 
this  thought  came  into  their  hearts.  For  it  is  a  wicked  and  evil  thought 
for  a  servant  to  deliberate  whether  he  should  deny  his  master.     Take 

heed,  therefore,  ye  who  have  Bach  thoughts,  that  this  mind  continue 
not  in  you,  and  ye  die  unto  God.  Hut  ye  who  sutler  death  for  his 
name's  Bake  ought  to  honour  tin'  Lord  that  he  has  esteemed  you  wor- 
thy to  bear  his  name,  and  that  you  should  be  delivered  from  all  your 
sins.    Aim!  why,  therefore,  do  you  not  rather  esteem  yourselves  happy? 

think  verily,  that  if  any  one  among  you  suffer,  he  performs  a 
work.     For  the  Lord  giveth  you  life,  and  ye  understand  it  not.     For 
your  i  did  oppress  you;  and  if  you  had  not  suffered  for  his 

name's  sake,  ye  had  now  been  dead  unto  the  Lord.  Wherefore  I  speak 
this  unto  you  to  deliberate  whether  ye  should  confess  or  deny  him: — 
Confess  that  ye  have  the  Lord  for  your  Cod,  lest  at  any  time,  denying 
him,  ye  be  delivered  over  into  bonds.  For  if  all  nations  punish  their 
servants  which  deny  their  masters,  what  think  you  that  the  Lord  will 
do  unto  you,  who  has  the  power  of  all  things?  Remove,  therefore, 
out  of  your  hearts  these  doubts,  that  ye  may  live  for  ever  unto  God. 

XXIX.  "  As  for  the  twelfth  mountain,  which  was  white ;  the] 
such  as  have  believed  like  sincere  children,  into  whose  thoughts  there 
never  came  any  malice;  nor  have  they  ever  known  what  sin  was,  but 
have  always  continued  in  their  integrity.  Wherefore  this  kind  of  men 
shall,  without  all  doubt,  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  because  they 
have  never,  in  any  thing,  defiled  the  commandments  of  God,  but  have 
continued  with  sincerity  in  the  same  condition  all  the  days  of  their 
lif.-.  Whosoever,  therefore,"  said  he,  "  shall  continue  as  children 
without  malice,  shall  be   more  honourable  than  all  those  of  whom  I 

i token  ;  for  all  such  children  are  honoured  by  the  Lord,  and 
med  the  first  of  all.     Happy,  therefore,  are  ye  who  shall  remove 
all  malice  from  you,  and  put  on  innocence;  because  ye  shall  first 
the  Lord."      And   alter  he  had  thus  ended   his   explication  of  all  the 
mountains,  T  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  show  me  now  also  what  concerns 
thai  w.re  brought  out  of  the  plain,  and  put  into  the  tower 
in  the  room  of  those  that  were  rejected  ;  as  also  concerning  those  round 
stones  which  wen-  added  into  the  building  of  the  tower:   and  all 
who  still  continued  round." 

XXX.  ^  Hear  bow,"  says  ho,  m  concerning  those  stems  which  • 
brought  out  of  the  plain  into  die  building  of  the  tower,  and  placed  in 
the  room  of  those  that  were  rejected;   they  an-  the  roots  o[   that  white 

mountain.  Wherefore,  because  those  who  have  believed  of  that  moun- 
tain were  very  innocent,  the  Lord  of  this  tower  commanded  that  they 
which  were  i  f  the  roots  of  this  mountain  should  be  placed  into  the 

building;  for  he  knew  that  if  they  Were  put  into  this  building  they 
would   continue  bright,  nor  would  any  of  them   any  more   be   I 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  265 

black.  But  if  he  had  added  in  this  manner  from  the  rest  of  the  moun- 
tains, he  would  almost  have  needed a  again  to  visit  this  tower  and  to 
cleanse  it.  Now  all  these  white  stones  are  the  young  men  who  have 
believed,  or  shall  believe  ;  for  they  are  all  of  the  same  kind.  Happy 
is  this  kind,  because  it  is  innocent.  Hear  now,  also,  concerning  those 
round  and  bright  stones  :  all  these  are  of  this  white  mountain  ;  but  they 
are  therefore  found  round,  because  their  riches  have  a  little  darkened 
them  from  the  truth,  and  dazzled  their  eyes  ■  howbeit  they  have  never 
departed  from  the  Lord,  nor  has  any  wicked  word  proceeded  out  of 
their  mouths,  but  all  righteousness,  and  virtue,  and  truth.  When 
therefore  the  Lord  saw  their  mind,  and  that  they  might  adorn  the  truth, 
he  commanded  that  they  should  continue  good,  and  that  their  riches 
should  be  pared  away :  for  he  would  not  have  them  taken  wholly  away, 
to  the  end  they  might  do  some  good  with  that  which  was  left,  and  live 
unto  God  ;  because  they  also  are  of  a  good  kind.  Therefore  was  there 
a  little  cut  off  from  them,  and  so  they  were  put  into  the  building  of  this 
towTer. 

XXXI.  "As  for  the  rest,  which  continued  still  round,  and  were  not 
found  fit  for  the  building  of  this  tower,b  because  they  have  not  yet  re- 
ceived the  seal ;  they  were  carried  back  to  their  place,  because  they 
were  found  very  round.  But  this  present  world  must  be  cut  away 
from  them,  and  the  vanities  of  their  riches ;  and  then  they  will  be  fit 
for  the  kingdom  of  God.  For  they  must  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  because  God  has  blessed  this  innocent  kind.  Of  this  kind,  there- 
fore, none  shall  fall  awTay ;  for  though  any  of  them  being  tempted  by 
the  devil  should  offend,  he  shall  soon  return  to  his  Lord  God.  I,  the 
angel  of  repentance,  esteem  you  happy,  whosoever  are  innocent  as  little 
children,  because  your  portion  is  good  and  honourable  with  the  Lord: 
and  I  say  unto  all  you  who  have  received  this  seal,  Keep  simplicity, 
and  remember  not  the  offences  which  are  committed  against  you,  nor 
continue  in  malice,  or  in  bitterness,  through  the  memory  of  offences, 
but  become  one  spirit,0  and  provide  remedies  for  these  evil  rents,  and 
remove  them  from  you,  that  the  Lord  of  the  sheep  may  rejoice  at  it;* 
for  he  will  rejoice,  if  he  shall  find  all  Whole/  But  if  any  of  these  sheep 
shall  be  found  scattered  away,  wo  shall  be  to  the  shepherds ;  but  and 
if  the  shepherds  themselves  shall  be  scattered,  what  will  they  answer 
to  the  Lord  of  the  sheepfold  ?  Will  they  say  that  they  were  troubled 
by  the  sheep  ?  But  they  shall  not  be  believed.  For  it  is  an  incredible 
thing  that  the  shepherd  should  suffer  by  his  flock ;  and  he  shall  be  the 


°  MS.  Lamb.  Tantum  non  nccesse  habuissct.  b  MS.  Lamb.  Structwam  turrit  kujus. 

c  MS.  Lamb.  Et  unum  quemque  tpiriiumfieri:  which  appears  from  the  Greek  of  Anti- 
ochus  to  be  the  true  reading — *ai  ycvfoOat  lv  wfya.  «  MS.  Gaudcat  de  his.     Gr. 

Antioch.  X'ipn  fa'  atria.         d  Vid.  Antioch.  Horn,  exxii.         «  Gr.  T<">  Aanrdn?  nv  Tlomviov, 

34  Z 


266         THE  SHEPHERD  OF  ST.  HERMA8. 

more  punished  for  his  lie.     Now  I  am  the  shepherd  ;  and  I  especially 
must  give  BO  account  of  you. 

XXXII.  "Wherefore  take  care  of  yourselves,  whilst  the  tower  is 
yet  building.  The  Lord  dwells  id  those  that  love  peace ;  for  peace  is 
beloved :  but  he  is  far  off  from  the  contentious,  and  those  who  are  full 
of  malice."  Wherefore  restore  unto  him  the  spirit  entire,  as  ye  received 
it.  "For  if  thou  shalt  give  unto  a  fuller  a  garment  new  and  whole, 
thou  wilt  expect  to  receive  it  whole  again  :  if  therefore  the  fuller  shall 
restore  it  unto  thee  torn,  wouldst  thou  receive  it?  Wouldst  thou  not 
presently  be  angry,  and  reproach  him,  saying,  I  gave  my  garment  to 
thee  whole,  why  hast  thou  rent  it,  and  made  it  useless  to  me?  Now 
it  is  of  no  use  to  me,  by  reason  of  the  rent  which  thou  hast  made  in  it. 
Wouldst  thou  not  say  all  this  to  a  fuller,  for  the  rent  which  he  made 
in  thy  garment  ?  If,  therefore,  thou  wouldst  be  concerned  for  thy  gar- 
ment, and  complain  that  thou  hadst  not  received  it  whole,  what  think- 
est  thou  that  the  Lord  will  do,  who  gave  his  spirit  to  thee  entire,  and 
thou  hast  rendered  him  altogether  unprofitable,  so  that  he  can  be  of  no 
use  unto  his  Lord  ?  For  being  corrupted  by  thee,  he  is  no  longer  pro- 
fitable to  him.  Will  not,  therefore,  the  Lord  do  the  same  concerning 
his  spirit,  by  reason  of  thy  deed  ?"  "  Undoubtedly,"  said  I,  «  he  will 
do  the  same  to  all  those  whom  he  shall  find  to  continue  in  the  remem- 
brance of  injuries."  "Tread  not  then  under  foot,"  said  he,  "  hia 
mercy ;  but  rather  honour  him,  because  he  is  so  patient  with  respect  to 
your  offences,  and  not  like  one  of  you ;  but  repent,  for  that  will  be  pro- 
fitable for  you. 

XXXIII.  "  All  these  tilings  which  are  above  written,  I  the  shep- 
herd, the  angel  of  repentance,  have  shown  and  spoken  to  the  servants 
of  God.  If  therefore  ye  shall  believe,  and  hearken  to  these  words,  and 
shall  walk  in  them,  and  shall  correct  your  ways,  ye  shall  live.  But 
if  ye  shall  continue  in  malice,  and  in  the  remembrance  o(  injuries,  no 
such  sinners  shall  live  unto  God.  All  these  things  which  were  to  be 
spoken  by  me,  I  have  thus  delivered  unto  you."  Then  the  shepherd 
said  unto  me,  m  Hasl  thou  asked  all  things  of  me  ?"  I  answered,  "Sir, 
I  nave."  ""Why  then,"  said  he,  "hast  thou  not  asked  concerning 
the  spaces  of  these  stones  that  were  put  in  the  building,  that  I  ma\  ex- 
plain that  also  unto  thee?"  I  answered,  ^  Sir,  I  l  n  Hear 
then,'1  said  lie,  ((concerning  those  also.  They  are  these  who  have 
HOW  heard  these  commands,  and  have  repented  with  all  their  hearts  : 
and  when  the  Lord  saw  that  their  repentance  was  good  and  pure,  and 
that  they  should  continue  in  it,  he  commanded  their  former  sins  to  be 
blotted  out.  For  these  spaces  were  their  sins;  ami  they  are,  then 
made  even  that  they  might  not  appear/1 

a  Perditu  mnHtia, — Tat.  b  Antioch.  Hon.  icfr.  s     v 


HIS   SIMILITUDES.  267 

The  Tenth  Similitude. 
Of  repentance  and  alms-deeds. 

I.  After  that  I  had  written  this  book,  the  angel  which  had  delivered 
me  to  that  shepherd,  came  into  the  house  where  I  was,  and  sat  upon 
the  bed,  and  that  shepherd  stood  at  his  right  hand.  Then  he  called 
me,  and  said  unto  me,  "  I  delivered  thee  and  thy  house  to  this  shep- 
herd, that  thou  mightest  be  protected  by  him."  I  said,  "Yes,  Lord." 
«  If  therefore,"  said  he,  "  thou  wilt  be  protected  from  all  vexations, 
and  from  all  cruelty,  and  have  success  in  every  good  word  and  work, 
and  have  all  virtue  and  righteousness,  walk  in  those  commands  which 
he  has  given  thee,  and  thou  shalt  have  dominion  over  all  sin.  For  if 
thou  keepest  those  commands,  all  the  lust  and  pleasure  of  this  present 
world  shall  be  subject  to  thee ;  and  success  shall  follow  thee  in  every 
good  undertaking.  Take,  therefore,  his  gravity B  and  modesty  towards 
thee,  and  say  unto  all,  that  he  is  in  great  honour  and  renown  with  God, 
and  is  a  prince b  of  great  authority,  and  powerful  in  his  office.  To  him 
only  is  the  power  of  repentance  committed  throughout  the  whole  world. 
Does  he  not  seem  to  thee  to  be  of  great  authority  ?  But  ye  despise  his 
goodness,  and  the  modesty  wThich  he  shows  towards  you." 

II.  I  said  unto  him,  "  Sir,  ask  him  since  the  time  that  he  came  into 
my  house  whether  I  have  done  any  thing  disorderly,  or  have  offended 
him  in  any  thing?"  » I  know,"  said  he,  "  that  thou  hast  done  nothing 
disorderly,  neither  wilt  thou  hereafter  do  any  such  thing ;  and  therefore 
I  speak  these  things  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  persevere  ;  for  he  has 
given  me  a  good  account  concerning  thee.  But  thou  shalt  speak  these 
things  to  others,  that  they  who'  either  have  repented,  or  shall  repent, 
may  be  like  minded  with  thee  ;c  and  he  may  give  me  as  good  an  account 
of  them  also ;  and  I  may  do  the  same  unto  the  Lord."  I  answered, 
"  Sir,  I  declare  to  all  men  the  wonderful  works  of  God ;  and  I  hope 
that  all  who  love  them,  and  have  before  sinned,  when  they  shall  hear 
these  things,  will  repent,  and  recover  life."  "  Continue,  therefore," 
said  he,  "  in  this  ministry,  and  fulfil  it.  And  whosoever  shall  do  ac- 
cording to  the  commands  of  this  shepherd,  he  shall  live  ;  and  shall  have 
great  honour  both  here  and  with  the  Lord.  But  they  that  shall  not 
keep  his  commands  flee  from  their  life,  and  are  adversaries  unto  it. 
And  they  that  follow  not  his  commands  shall  deliver  themselves  unto 
death,  and  shall  be  every  one  guilty  of  his  own  blood.  But  I  say  unto 
thee,  keep  these  commandments,  and  thou  shalt  find  a  cure  for  all  thy 
sins. 

°  Lat.  Matwitaian.  b  President.  c  Eadem  qua  tu  scntiant. 


268  THE    SHEPHERD    OF    ST.    HERMAS. 

III.  "Moreover,  I  have  sent  these  virgins"  to  dwell  with  thee  ;  for 
I  have  seen  that  they  are  very  kind  to  thee.  Thou  shalt,  therefore,  have 
them  for  thy  helpers,  that  thou  mayest  the  better  keep  the  commands 
which  he  has  given  thee;  for  these  commands  cannot  be  kept  without 
these  virgins.  And  I  see6  how  they  are  willing  to  be  with  thee;  and 
I  will  also  command  them,  that  they  shall  not  at  all  depart  from  thy 
house.  Only  do  thou  purify  thy  house  ;  for  they  will  readily  dwell  in 
a  clean  house.  For  they  are  clean,  and  chaste,  and  industrious;  and 
all  of  them  have  grace  with  the  Lord.  If,  therefore,  thou  shalt  have 
thy  house  pure,  they  will  abide  with  thee ;  but  if  it  shall  be  never  so 
little  polluted]  they  will  immediately  depart  from  thy  house;  for  these 
virgins  cannot  endure  any  manner  of  pollution."  I  said  unto  him, 
"  Sir,  I  hope  that  I  shall  so  please  them  that  they  shall  always  delight  to 
dwell  in  my  house;  and  as  he  to  whom  you  have  committed  me  makes 
no  complaint  of  me,  so  neither  shall  they  complain."  Then  he  said 
to  that  shepherd,  "I  see  that  the  servant  of  God  will  live  and  keep 
these  commandments,  and  place  these  virgins  in  a  pure  habitation." 

'When  he  had  said  this,  he  delivered  me  again  to  that  shepherd,  and 
called  the  virgins,  and  said  unto  them,  "  Forasmuch  as  I  see  that  ye 
will  readily  dwell  in  this  man's  house,  I  commend  him  and  his  house 
to  you,  that  ye  may  not  at  all  depart  from  his  house."  And  they 
willingly  heard  these  words. 

IV.  Then  he  said  unto  me,  "  Go  on  manfully  in  thy  ministry  ;  de- 
clare to  all  men  the  great  things  of  God,  and  thou  shalt  find  grace  in 
this  ministry.  And  whosoever  shall  walk  in  these  commands  shall 
live,  and  be  happy  in  his  life:  but  he  that  shall  neglect  them  shall  not 
live,  and  shall  be  unhappy  in  his  life.  Say  unto  all  that  whosoever 
can  do  well  cease  not  to  exercise  themselves  in  good  works,  for  it  is 
profitable  unto  them.  For  I  would r  that  all  men  should  be  delivered 
from  the  inconveniences  they  lie  under.  For  he  that  wants,  and  suf- 
fers inconveniences  in  his  daily  life,  is  in  great  torment  and  necessity. 
Whosoever  therefore  delivers  such  a  soul  from  necessity  gets  great  joy 
unto  himself.  For  he  that  is  grieved  with  such  inconveniences  is 
equally  tormented  as  if  he  were  in  chains;  and  many  upon  the  account 

ch  calamities,  being  not  able  to  bear  them,  have  chosen    even  to 

destroy  them.s.-ives.     He  therefore  thai  knows  the  calamity  of  such  a 

man,  and  does  not  lice  him  from  it,  commits  a  great  sin,  and  is  guilty 
of  his  blood.     Wherefore  exercise  yourselves  in  good  works,  as  many 

as  have  received  ability  from  the  Lord,  1.  st,  whilst  ye  delay  to  do  them, 

building  of  the  tower  be  finished;  because  for  your  Bakes  tl.« 

Whit  j|  mean]  by  these  vifgfan,  s.v  before,  BimiL  i\.  reel  i">.  '  M8 

which  ippetrefroa  the  dOfl    Ofthk  net  to  be  the  true  reading.  f  Sojf« 


HIS  SIMILITUDES.  269 

building  is  stopped.  Except,  therefore,  ye  shall  make  haste  to  do 
well,  the  tower  shall  be  finished,  and  ye  shall  be  shut  out  of  it."  And 
after  he  had  thus  spoken  with  me,  he  rose  up  from  the  bed,  and  de- 
parted, taking  the  shepherd  and  virgins  with  him.  Howbeit  he  said 
unto  me  that  he  would  send  back  the  shepherd  and  virgins  unto  my 
house.     Amen. 


zi 


THE 

SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  CLEMENT 

TO 

THE  CORINTHIANS. 


I.  BRETHREN,  we  ought  so  to  think  of  Jesus  Christ  as  of  God — as 
of  the  Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead:  nor  should  we  think  any  less3 
of  our  salvation.  For  if  we  think  meanly"  of  him,  we  shall  hope  only 
to  receive  some  small  things"  from  him.  And,  if  we  do  so,6  we  shall 
sin  ;  not  considering0  from  whence  we  have  been  called,  and  by  whom, 
and  to  what  place ;  and  how  much  Jesus  Christ  vouchsafed  to  suffer 
for  our  sakes.  What  recompense  then  shall  we  render  unto  him  ?  or 
what  fruit  that  may  be  worthy  of  what  he  has  given  to  us  ?  For, 
indeed,  how  great  are  those  advantages  which  we  owe  to  him  in  rela- 
tion to  our  holiness!"  He  has  illuminated  us  ;  as  a  father  he  has  called 
us  his  children  :  he  has  saved  us  who  were  lost  and  undone.  What 
praise  shall  we. give  to  him,  or  what  reward  that  may  be  answerable  to 
those  things  which  we  have  received  ?  We  were  defective  in  our 
understandings;  worshipping  stones  and  wood,  gold  and  silver,  and 

.  the  works  of  men's  hands ;  and  our  whole  life  was  nothing  else 
but  death.  Wherefore,  being  encompassed  with  darkness,  and  having 
such  a  mist  before  our  eyes,  we  have  looked  up,  and  through  his  will 
have  laid  aside  the  cloud  wherewith  we  were  surrounded.  For  he  had 
compassion  upon  us,  and,  being  moved  in  his  bowels  towards  us,  he 
Raved  us  ;  having  beheld  in  us  much  error,  and  destruction,  and  seen 
that  we  had  no  hope  of  salvation  but  only  through  him.  For  he  called 
Ufl  who  were  not,  and  was  pleased  from  nothing  to  give  us  a  being. 

II.  "Rejoice,  thou  barren,  that  bearest  not,  break  forth  ami  cry. 
thou  that  travailesl  not ;  for  she  that  is  desolate  hath  many  more 
children  than  she  that  hath  an  husband."4  In  that  he  said,  m  Rejoice, 
thou  barren,  that  bearest  not,™  he  spake  of  us;  tor  our  church  was 
barren,  before  that  children  were  given  unto  it.  And  again,  when  he 
said,  «  Cry,  thou  thai  travailesl  not,"  he  implied  thus  much:  that,  alter 
the  manner  of  women  in  travail,  we  should  not  cease  to  put  up  our 
prayers  unto  God  abundantly/  And  tor  what  follows,  "because  she 
thai  is  desolate  hath  more  children  than  she  that  hath  an  husband:"*  it 


a  Lilth  things,  or  nunnhj.  II.:    ft  flf  little  things.  tittg,  d  Hoiv 

f,im  !  '  I- 1.  liv.  1.  ' '  \  Set  8d  Jam.  i.  5« 

*  Comparr  Horn.  \ii.  B,      I  <-\>r.  w;i.  '2;  ii.  1 1,  13. 

270 


OF   ST.    CLEMENT.  271 

was  therefore  added,  because  our  people  which  seemed  to  have  been 
forsaken  by  God,  now  believing  in  him,  are  become  more  than  they 
who  seemed  to  have  God.  And  another  Scripture  saith,  "  I  came  not 
to  call  the  righteous  but  sinners  [to  repentance].'"1  The  meaning  of 
which  is  this,  that  those  who  were  lost  must  be  saved.  For  that  is 
indeed  truly  great  and  wonderful,  not  to  confirm  those  things  that  are 
yet  standing,  but  those  which  are  fallen.  Even  so  did  it  seem  good 
to  Christ  to  save  what  was  lost ;  and  when  he  came  into  the  world  he 
saved  many,  and  called  us  who  were  already  lost. 

III.  Seeing  then  he  had  showed  so  great  mercy  towards  us,  and 
chiefly  for  that  we  who  are  alive  do  now  no  longer  sacrifice  to  dead 
gods,  nor  pay  any  worship  to  them,  but  have  by  him  been  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  Father  of  truth ;  wThereby  shall  we  show  that  we 
do  indeed  know  him,"  but  by  not  denying  him  by  whom  we  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  him?  For  even  he  himself  saith,  "Whosoever 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  before  my  Father."0 
This  therefore  is  our  reward,  if  we  shall  confess  him  by  whom  we  have 
been  saved.  But  wherein  must  we  confess  him  ?  Namely,  in  doing 
those  things  which  he  saith,  and  not  disobeying  his  commandments — 
by  worshipping  him  not  with  our  lips  only,  but  with  all  our  heart,  and 
with  all  our  mind  ;  for  he  saith  in  Isaiah,  "  This  people  honoureth  me 
with  their  lips,  but  their  heart  is  far  from  me."" 

IV.  Let  us  then  not  only  call  him  Lord  ;  for  that  will  not  save  us. 
For  he  saith,  "  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  be 
saved,  but  he  that  doth  righteousness."6  Wherefore,  brethren,  let  us 
confess  him  by  our  works ;  by  loving  one  another ;  in  not  committing 
adultery,  not  speaking  evil  against  each  other,  not  envying  one 
another,  but  by  being  temperate,  merciful,  good.  Let  us  also  have  a 
mutual  sense  of  one  another's  sufferings,  and  not  be  covetous  of 
money ;  but  let  us  by  our  good  works  confess  God,  and  not  by  those 
that  are  otherwise.  Also,  let  us  not  fear  men,  but  rather  God. 
Wherefore  if  we  should  do  such  wicked  things/  the  Lord  hath  said, 
Though  ye  should  be  joined  unto  me,  even  in  my  very  bosom,  and 
not  keep  my  commandments,  I  would  cast  you  ofT,  and  say  unto  you, 
"Depart  from  me;  I  know  not  whence  you  are,  ye  workers  of 
iniquity."5 

V.  Wherefore,  brethren,  leaving  willingly  for  conscience'  sake  our 
sojourning  in  this  world,  let  us  do  the  will  of  him  who  has  called  us, 
and  not  fear  to  depart  out  of  this  world.  For  the  Lord  saith,  "  Ye 
shall  be  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  Peter  answered  and  said, 
what  if  the  wolves  shall  tear  in  pieces  the  sheep  ?     Jesus  said  unto 

a  Mat.  ix.  13.  *  Wliat  is  the  knoirlrd^e  which  is  towards  him.  c  Mat.  x.  32. 

<"■  Isa.  xxix.  13.         •  Mat.  vii.  21.         /  Wlicreforc  we  doiyig  these  things.  *  Mat.  vii. 

23.     Luke  xiii.  27. 


272  THE    SECOND    EPISTLE 

Peter,  Let  not  the  sheep  fear  the  wolves  after  death.9  And  ye  also 
fear  not  those  that  kill  you,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can 
do  unto  you;  but  fear  him  who,  after  you  are  dead,  has  power  to  cast 
both  soul  and  body  into  hell-fire." b  For  consider,  brethren,  that  the 
sojourning  of  this  flesh  in  the  present  world  is  but  little,  and  of  a  short 
continuance;  but  the  promise  of  Christ  is  great  and  wonderful,  even 
the  test  of  the  kingdom  that  is  to  come,  and  of  eternal  life.  What 
then  must  we  do  that  we  may  attain  unto  it  ?  We  must  order  our 
conversation  holily  and  righteously,0  and  look  upon  all  the  things  of 
this  world  as  none  of  ours,  and  not  desire  them.  For,  if  we  desire 
to  possess  them,  we  fall  from  the  way  of  righteousness. 

VI.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  "No  servant  can  serve  two  masters."'1 
If,  therefore,  we  shall  desire  to  serve  God  and  Mammon,  it  will  be 
without  profit  to  us.  "  For  what  will  it  profit  if  one  gain  trie  whole 
world,  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?"'  Now  this  world,  and  that  to  come, 
are  two  enemies.  This  speaketh  of  adultery  and  corruption,  of  cove- 
tousness  and  deceit ;  but  that  renounceth  these  things.  We  cannot 
therefore  be  the  friends  of  both  ;  but  we  must  resolve,  by  forsaking  the 
one,  to  enjoy  the  other.  And  we  think  it  is  better  to  hate  the  present 
things,  as  little,  short-lived,  and  corruptible ;  and  to  love  those  which 
are  to  come,  which  are  truly  good#  and  incorruptible.  For  if  we  do 
the  will  of  Christ  we  shall  find  rest;  but  if  not,  nothing  shall  deliver 
us  from  eternal  punishment  if  we  shall  disobey  his  commands.  For 
even  thus  .saith  the  Scripture  in  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  "If  Noah,  Job, 
and  Daniel  should  rise  up," '  they  shall  not  deliver  their  children  in 
captivity.      Wherefore,  if  such  righteous  men  are  not  able  by  their 

•ousness  to  deliver  their  children,  how  can  we  hope  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God,  except  we  keep  our  baptism  holy  and  undeiiled? 
Or  who  shall  be  our  advocate,  unless  we  shall  be  found  to  have  done 
what  is  holy  and  just? 

VII.  Let  us  therefore,  my  brethren,  contend  with  all  earnestness, 
knowing  that  our  combat  is  at  hand,  and  that  many  go  long  voyages 
to  encounter  for  a  corruptible  reward ;  and  yet  all  are  not  crowned, 
but  they  only  that  labour  much,  and  strive  gloriously.  Let  us  there- 
fore so  contend  that  we  may  all  be  crowned.  Let  us  run  in  the  straight 
road  the  race  that  is  incorruptible;  and  let  us  in  great  numbers  pass 
ttntO  it,  and  strive  that  we  iu.iy  receive  the  crown.  But  and  if  we 
Cannot   all   be   crowned,    let    us   c<  me   as  near  to   it   as  W6   are   able. 

Moreover,  we  must  consider  that  he  who  contends  in  t  corruptible 

combat,  if  he  be  found  doing  any  thing  that  is  not  fair,  is  taken  away 
and  scourged,  and  cast  out  of  the  lists.      What  think  ye  then  that  he 


•  Mat.  x.  16.  k  Luki-  xn.  I.  .".  c  Ms.  Al«  \nndr.  6c«.s  » 

1  Lake  xvi.  \\\.       i  Mat.  kvL  "»■••        '  BmS,  rit.  1 1 


OF   ST.    CLEMENT.  273 

shall  suffer  who  does  any  thing  that  is  not  fitting  in  the  combat  of  im- 
mortality ?  Thus  speaks  the  prophet  concerning  those  who  keep  not  their 
seal :  "  Their  worm  shall  not  die,  and  their  fire  shall  not  be  quenched  ; 
and  they  shall  be  for  a  spectacle  unto  all  flesh." a 

VIII.  Let  us  therefore  repent  whilst  we  are  yet  upon  the  earth ;  for 
we  are  as  clay  in  the  hand  of  the  artificer.  For  as  the  potter,  if  he 
make  a  vessel,  and  it  be  turned  amiss  in  his  hands,  or  broken,  again 
forms  it  anew ;  but  if  he  have  gone  so  far  as  to  throw  it  into  the  fur- 
nace of  fire,  he  can  no  more  bring  any  remedy  to  it, — so  we,  whilst 
we  are  in  this  world,  should  repent,"  with  our  whole  heart,  for  whatso- 
ever evil  we  have  done  in  the  flesh,  while  we  have  yet  the  time  of 
repentance,  that  we  may  be  saved  by  the  Lord.  For  after  we  shall 
have  departed  out  of  this  world,  we  shall  no  longer  be  able  either  to 
confess  our  sins,  or  repent  in  the  other.0  Wherefore,  brethren,  let  us, 
doing  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  keeping  our  flesh  pure,  and  observ- 
ing the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life ;  for  the 
Lord  saith  in  the  gospel,  "If  ye  have  not  kept  that  which  was  little, 
who  will  give  you  that  which  is  great?  For  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful  also  in  much." d  This  there- 
fore is  what  he  saith :  Keep  your  bodies  pure,  and  your  seal  without 
spot,  that  ye  may  receive  eternal  life. 

IX.  And  let  not  any  one  among  you  say  that  this  very  flesh  is  not 
judged,  neither  raised  up.  Consider  in  what  were  ye  saved :  in  what 
did  ye  look  up,  if  not  whilst  ye  were  in  this  flesh  ?  We  must  there- 
fore keep  our  flesh  as  the  temple  of  God.  For  in  like  manner  as  ye 
were  called  in  the  flesh,  ye  shall  also  come  to  judgment  in  the  flesh. 
Our  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,e  who  has  saved  us,  being  first  a  spirit,  was 
made  flesh,  and  so  called  us.  Even  so  we  also  shall  in  this  flesh  re- 
ceive the  reward.  Let  us  therefore  love  one  another,  that  wre  may 
attain  unto  the  kingdom  of  God.  Whilst  we  have  time  to  be  healed, 
let  us  deliver  up  ourselves  to  God  our  physician,  giving  our  reward 
unto  him.  And  what  reward  shall  we  give  ?  Repentance  out  of  a 
pure  heart;  for  he  knows  all  things  beforehand,  and  searches  out  our 
very  hearts.  Let  us  therefore  give  praise  unto  him,  not  only  with  our 
mouths,  but  with  all  our  souls ;  that  he/  may  receive  us  as  children. 
For  so  the  Lord  hath  said,  "  They  are  my  brethren  who  do  the  will 
of  my  Father." 

X.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  let  us  do  the  will  of  the  Father,  who 
hath  called  us,  that  we  may  live.  Let  us  pursue  virtue,  and  forsake 
wickedness,  which  leadeth  us  into  sins  ;  and  let  us  flee  all  ungodliness, 
that  evils  overtake  us  not.     For  if  we  shall  do  our  diligence  to  live 


a  Isa.  lxvi.  24.  *  Let  us  repent.  c  There.         d  Luke  xvi.  20.  eMS.  Alex, 

plane  sic  exhibet :  c7«  Xptardf.  f  Vox  Ocov  non  est  in  MS.     Mat.  xii.  50. 

35 


274  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    ST.  CLEMENT. 

well,  peace  shall  follow  us.  And  yet  how  hard  is  it  to  find  a  man e 
that  does  this  !  For  almost  all  are  led  by  human  fears,  choosing  rather 
the  present  enjoyments  than  the  future  promise.  For  they  know  not 
how  great  a  torment  the  present  enjoyments  bring  with  them,  nor  what 
delights  the  future  promise.  And  if  they  themselves  only  did  this,  it 
might  the  more  easily  be  endured ;  but  now  they  go  on  to  infect  inno- 
cent souls  with  their  evil  doctrines,  not  knowing  that  both  themselves 
and  those  that  hear  them  shall  receive  a  double  condemnation. 

XI.  Let  us  therefore  serve  God  with  a  pure  heart,  and  we  shall  be 
righteous :  but  if  we  shall  not  serve  him,  because  we  do  not  believe 
the  promise  of  God,  we  shall  be  miserable.  For  thus  saith  the  prophet . 
"  Miserable  are  the  double-minded,  who  doubt  in  their  heart,  and  say, 
These  things  we  have  heard,  even  in  the  time  of  our  fathers,  but  we 
have  seen  none  of  them,  though  we  have  expected  them  from  day  to 
day.  0  ye  fools !  compare  yourselves  to  a  tree  ;  take  the  vine  for  an 
example  ;  first  it  sheds  its  leaves,  then  it  buds,  then  come  the  sour 
grapes,  then  the  ripe  fruit.  Even  so  my  people  has  borne  its  disorders 
and  afflictions,  but  shall  hereafter  receive  good  things.'' b  Wherefore, 
ray  brethren,  let  us  not  doubt  in  our  minds,  but  let  us  expect  with 
hope,  that  we  may  receive  our  reward  ;  for  he  is  faithful,  who  has  pro- 
raised  that  he  will  render  to  every  one  a  reward  according  to  his  works. 
If  therefore  we  shall  do  what  is  just  in  the  sight  of  God,  we  shall  enter 
into  his  kingdom,  and  shall  receive  the  promises  "which  neither  eye 
hath  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man."c 

\II.  Wherefore  let  us  every  hour  expect  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
love  and  righteousness  ;  because  we  know  not  the  day  of  God's  ap- 
pearing. 

•  For  for  this  cause  we  cannot  find  a  man.  Miter  Wendel  in  traduct.  Lat.  q.  v 
^See  above  the  first  epistle,  chap,  xxiii.         '  1  Cor.  ii.  9. 


INDEX. 


ABBREVIATIONS  USED  IN  THIS  INDEX. 

Clem. The  First  Epistle  of  St.  Clement. 

2  Clem. The  Second  Epistle  of  ditto. 

Polyc. The  Epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians. 

Ignat.  Ephes.  or  Trail.  Sec   -        -        -        •        St.  Ignatius'*  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians.  Trallians,  SfC 

Mart.  Ignat.  or  Polyc. The  Mart i/rdom  of  St.  Ignatius,  or  St.  Polycarp. 

Bam. The  Epistle  of  Barnabas. 

Herm.  Vis.  Com.  or  Sim.       -  The  Visions,  Commands,  or  Similitudes  of  Hernias. 

N.  B.  The  Figures  denote  the  Sections. 


ALMS-GIVING. 

How   we   ought   to    give.     Barn.  19. 

Herm.  ii.  Com. 
Exhortations  to  it.     Barn.  19.     Herm. 

Vis.  iii.  9.     Sim.  x.  4. 

ANGELS. 

Attend  the  death  of  good  men.     Herm. 

Vis.  ii.  2. 
Every   man  hath  two  angels.     Herm. 

Com.  v.  2. 

ANGER. 

The  mischief  and  sinfulness  of  it. 
Herm.  Com.  v.  2. 

APOSTATES. 

No  repentance  allowed  to  them.   Herm. 

Sim.  vi.  2 ;  viii.  6,  8 ;  ix.  19. 
They  cannot  be  saved.     Herm.  Sim.  ix. 

19,  26. 

BAPTISM. 

Forgives  all  sins  committed  before  it. 

Barn.  11.     Herm.  Com.  iv.  3. 
Its  necessity.     Herm.  Vis.  iii.  3.     Sim. 

ix.  16. 

BISHOPS. 

Of  divine  institution.  Clem.  42,  43. 
Ignat.  Ephes.  3,  6. 

In  the  primitive  church  the  same  as  they 
are  with  us  now.  Ignat.  Magnes.  2, 
6,13.  Trail  2,  7.  Philad.  Inscript. 
4,  7,  10.  Smyrn.  8,  12.  Polyc.  6. 
Mart.  Ignat.  9. 

The  reverence  due  to  them.  Ignat. 
Magnes.  3.     Smyrn.  9. 

That  we  ought  to  adhere  to  their  com- 
munion. Ignat.  Smyrn.  8.  Magnes. 
6,  7,  13. 


The  holy  sacraments  to  be  administered 

only  by  them,  or  such  as  are  appointed 

by  them.     Ignat.  Smyrn.  8. 
Marriage    not    to    be    made    without 

their  knowledge  and  consent,    [gnat. 

Polyc.  5. 
A  bishop  ought  to  instruct  as  well  as 

govern  his  church.     Mart.  Ignat.  1. 
Exhortations  proper  to  be  given  by  a 

bishop  to  his  people.     Ignat.  Polyc. 

5,  6,  &c. 
The  duty  of  a  bishop.     Ignat.  Polyc.  !. 

2,4. 

BODY,  see  Resurrection. 

The  bodies  we  here  have  shall  be  re- 
stored to  us.     Herm.  Sim.  v.  7. 


BUSINESS. 

Much  business  a  hinderance  to  religion. 
Herm.  Sim.  iv.  ix.  20. 


CALAMITIES. 

God  sends  them  upon  us  to  bring  us  to 
repentance.     Herm.  vi.     Sim.  iii. 

CHARITY. 

What  true  charity  is.     Clem.  49. 

The  praise  of  it.     Clem.  49,  50,  53,  54. 

Exhortations  to  it.     Clem.  54,  55,  &c. 

CHRIST. 

His    divinity.     Clem.    16,   36.     Ignat. 

Ephes.     Inscription,    and    7,    18,    19. 

Bom.Jn9eript.3y6.    Polyc.  8.    Barn. 

5.     2  Clem.  1. 
Pre-existence.      Ignnt.   Magnes.    6,    8. 

Barn,  5.     2  Clem.  9.    Herm.  Sim.  ix. 

12. 

295 


296 


INDEX. 


His  two  natures.      Tgmat.  Epha.  7,  20. 

Smyrn,  1,3.     Pofyc.  3.     Rim.  •">• 
Oi  his  birth,  be.     Tgnat.  Epha,   19. 

Magna,  1 1. 
Thai  he  is  our  high-priest  and  pn 

Clem,  58. 
That  there  is  no  coming  to  God  but  by 

him.  Harm,  Sim.  i\.  18,  L( 
Thai  the  ancient  fathers  w  re  saved  by 

hini.     Ignat,   Phihd,  .">.  9.     tierm. 

Sim,  i\.  16. 
So  are  we.    9  ( 

That   he    Buffered    for    oui  salvation. 
.    IS,    -j  l.    19.  Smyrn. 

.  J  Clem.  I.    Pofyc 

-.      Mart.  17. 
That  he  truly  Buffered,     j^noi.  Magnet. 

II.       /    no/.     7'/'/./.     !',     LOi       Smyrn, 

!.    J. 

That  he  was  taiaed  firom  the  dead  by  the 

Father.    Ignat,  Trail.  9. 
By  himself.     Tgnat.  Smyrn,  9. 
That  he  shall  judge  the  world.     Barn. 

...  9. 
Tin-  benefits  which  we  have  all  received 

from  Christ,  in  order  to  our  salvation. 

-j  Clem,  1,2. 

riimsTIAN. 

A  Christian  nut  tobe  judged  of  by  his 
outward  profession,  hnt  by  his  true 
piety,     tgnat.  Epha,  14. 

COMMANDS. 

iiunands  of  God  possihle  to  be 
|  ed.     II'  rm.  Com.  xii.  3. 

COMMUNION. 

The  necessity  "f*  church  communion. 
Ignat.  Ephet.  5. 

CONFESSION. 
To  be  made  to  God.    Clem.  51. 

CONTENTMENT. 

amended.     ( %  m.  .'J7.  38. 

CORRECTION. 

Th<-  benefit  of  it.    Clem.  56,  57. 

<  01  BT01  BNESa 
The  mischii  f  of  it     Polye.  1,  1 1. 

DEACONa 

Their  duty.      / 


DEATH. 

While  we  live  well,  we  should  not  fear 
to  die.    9  Clem.  5. 

DESIRE. 

We  must  1 1 <  •  t  encourage  evil  desires. 
lit  r in.  ( 'cm,  xii.  1. 

DEVIL. 

Thai  we  ought  not  to  fear  him.    Ihrm. 

.  vii. 
Hi    c  tmol  overcome   as   if  we  strive 

against  him.     Herm,  Com,  \ii.  5. 
Chnst  has  subjected  his  power  to  us. 

Ignat.  Mart.  5,  0. 

DEVOTION. 

Tin-  benefit  of  frequent  public  devotion. 
Ignat.  Epha*  13. 

DIFFER. 

How  we  ought  to  behave  ourselves  to- 
wards those  who  differ  from  us.  lariat 
Epha.  10. 

That  we  should  not  give  offence  to 
them.    IgnfM.  'J rail.  8. 

ENVY. 

The  mischiefs  of  it.     Clem,  4,  5,  &c. 

EUCHARIST,  see  Bishop,  Sacra- 
ment. 

EVIL. 

That  we  must  abstain  from  evil,  as  wt  It 
as  do  good.  Berm.Cbm.viii.  Clem. 
35. 

i:\  LMPLE. 

That  we  slmuM  imitate  the  examples 

(4'    Christ    and    his     saints.      Polye. 

Eput.  8,  !». 
Especially  in  their  Bufferings.     Polye. 

'. 

EXHORTATION. 

Proper  to  all  degrees  of  m<  n  in  the 
church.    Clem.  91,  90.    Ignat.  I 
5,  6. 

FAITH. 

(.//!</    |     |     .ll    -  I  II   I.     \  I  ION.) 

The  necessity  of  faith  in  <  'hrist. 

Sijii/n..  ."..  ('.. 

FAST. 

What  a  tme  fast  is;  and  h"W  w .  ma\ 
render   "»ir   fasting   acci  pi  ible    onto 

God.       Hum.  3.      Ihrm.  Sim.  ' 


INDEX. 


297 


FEAR. 

We  must  fear  God,  and  not  be  afraid  of 

the  devil.     Herm.  Com.  vii. 
The  benefit  of  fearing  God.     Ibid. 

FUTURE  HAPPINESS. 

The  greatness  of  it.     Clem.  34,  35. 

FUTURE  JUDGMENT. 

That  there  shall  be  such  a  judgment. 

Barn.  21. 
Christ  shall  be  the  judge.    See  Christ. 
There  is  no  escaping  the  judgment  of 

God.     Clem.  28. 
We  shall  be  judged  in  the  same  flesh 

in  which  we  live  here.     2  Clem.  9. 

GOD. 

His  attributes :  Maker  of  all  things. 

Clem.  27. 
Omniscient.     Clem.  27.     Jgnat.  Ephes. 

15. 
Almighty.     Clem.  27.     Herm.  Com.  iv. 

1.     Sim.  v.  7. 
There   is   but   one  true   God.     Ignat. 

Mart.  5.     Herm.  Com.  i. 
There  is  no  flying  from  him.     Clem.  28. 
Of  the  nature  of  God  and  our  duty  to 

him.     Herm.  Com.  i. 
His  prescience.     2  Clem.  9. 
He    searcheth    the    heart.     Clem.   21. 

2  Clem.  9.     Polyc.  4.     Ignat.  Mag- 

nes.  3. 
Faithful  in  all  his  promises.     Clem.  27. 
Ordereth  all  events.     Mart.  Polyc.  2. 

GOOD. 

What  good  we  must  do.     Herm.  Com. 

viii. 

GOOD  WORKS. 
We  must  be  diligent  to  perform  them 

if  we  mean  to  be  saved.     Clem.  34. 

HAPPINESS,  see  Future. 

HERETICS,  HERESY. 

We  must  avoid  heretics.     Ignat.  Ephes. 

7,  8,  9,  &c.     Philad.  2,  3.     Smyrn. 

4,  7.     Trail.  G,  7.     Phil.  3. 
The  danger  of  them.    Ignat.  Ephes.  1G. 

Smyrn.  4.      Trail.  11. 
Yet  we  must  pray  for  them.     Ignat. 

Smyrn.  4. 
We  must  arm  ourselves  against  falling 

into  heresy.     Ignat.  Trail.  G  to  12. 

Philad.  2. 
Their  main  errors  in  those  first  times. 

Polyc.   7.     Ignat.   Magn.    8,   9,   10. 

Trail.  9.     Phil.  G.      Smyrn.  2,  5. 
Their  practices.     Ignat.  Smyrn.  7. 


HOSPITALITY. 

Recommended.     Clem.  10,  11,  12. 

HUMILITY. 

Recommended.     Clem.  16,  17   18. 

IMAGE. 

Wherein  the  image  of  God  consists. 
Clem.  33. 

JUDGE,  JUDGMENT,  see  Future. 

JUSTIFICATION. 

By  faith.     Clem.  32. 

We  are  justified  by  the  same  faith  that 
the  holy  men  were  from  the  begin- 
ning.    Clem.  32. 

LAW. 

The  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Jewish  law  abolished.     Barn.  2,  3. 

LIFE. 

That  we  should  not  be  solicitous  after 
the  things  of  this  life.     Herm.  Sim.  i. 

LORD'S-DAY. 

Observed  in  the  primitive  church,  in 
opposition  to  the  Jewish  sabbath. 
Ignat.  Magnes.  9.     Barn.  15. 

t  LYING. 
To  be  avoided.     Herm.  Com.  iii. 
MARRIAGE,  see  Bishop,  Priest. 

MARTYR,  MARTYRDOM. 

The  anniversaries  of  the  martyrs  wont 
to  be  kept  in  the  primitive  church. 
Ignat.  Mart.  14.  Polyc.  Mart.  18, 
19,  21. 

What  respect  the  Christians  had  for 
them.     Mart.  Polyc.  17. 

The  greatness  of  their  sufferings.  Mart. 
Ignat.  12.  Mart.  Polyc.  2,  16.  Herm. 
Vis.  iii.  2. 

Martyrs  shall  have  a  more  than  ordinary 
degree  of  glory  hereafter.  Herm. 
Vis.  iii.  1,  2.     Sim.  viii.  3. 

Martyrdom  blots  out  all  sins.  Herm. 
Sim.  ix.  28. 

It  is  therefore  to  be  esteenu  d  a  happi- 
ness so  to  suffer.     lh  rm.  Sim.  ix.  28. 

Yet  men  ought  not  needlessly  to  ex- 
pose themselves  to  suffering.  Mart. 
Polyc.  4. 

The  extraordinary  supports  which  were 
afforded  them  by  God  in  their  suffer- 
ings.    Polyc.  Mart.  2. 

2A 


298 


INDIA'. 


MIND. 

A^inst  trouble  and  anxiety  of  mind. 

Hi  mi.  ('inn.  v     i. 

MINISTERS,  [amdm  Pansre  ) 

Ancient] y  chosen  by, and  with  the  con- 

>f  the  church.     Clem.  1 1. 
Of  Divine  appointment.     C'em.  IS,  13. 

/      U.Ephea.3.     Pkifad.  Inscription. 
The  obedience  due  to  them  from  the 

people,    eajx  cially    to    the    bishop. 

7J</  yr.  5.   [gnat.  Trail  2,  13.  Smym. 

8. 
The  three   oidt  rs  i  f  bishops,  j> ri .  ats, 

and  deacoi  b,  in  the  primitive  church. 

tgnai.  V'agnet.  1,6,  13      'I'm 

7.     I'liiuJ.     See  the  hmcript.  4,  7, 

10.    Smyrn.  8, 12.    /Wye.  <>.     Mart. 

Tgnai.  9. 
Without  these  thare  is  no  church.  1 

Trail.  3. 

QBEDIENCE. 

Recommended.     I  fei».  10,  20. 

The  necessity  of  it.    2     fem.  3,4,  5. 

ORDER. 
The  necessity  of  different  orders  in  the 

church.      (  U  'a.  ."{7. 

Km  rj  "iic  ought  to  do  his  duty  in  that 
rank  in  which  he  is  placed.  Hem. 
58,  iii. 

PATIENCE. 

The  benefit  of  it.     Herm.  Com.  v.  1. 

ST.   PAUL. 

Prcaclnd  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the 
u.  It       (  inn.  5. 

PEACE. 

Exhortations  to  peace  and  unity.  Clenu 
46,54.     Ignat.Mmgmf.Sjl.     Trail. 

19.  limn.     .'!,     1.  '    J'ulyc.     6.         S« 

Unity. 

PRAYER 

Wc  must  pray  with  faith,  not  doubting. 
Hi  mi.  Com.  l\. 

Public  Prayer.  See  I)n;>!i<m\\.\\A  War* 
s/iiji. 

We  must  perserere  in  prayer.     Harm. 

Cmn.  ix. 
We     must     prey     foi     others. 

Ephtt.  h». 

i  illy  the  faithful.     Ignat.  I 
•I.     "ii.     Trail  in.    Amp. 9. 


PRIESTS,  PRESBYTERS. 

Married  in  tiie  primitive  church.  /Wye. 

ll. 
Tin  ir  duty.      /Wyr.  6. 
The  three  orders  of  them  in  the  ancient 

church,     c'nii.  40. 

PROMISE. 

God  is  faithful  in  his  promises;  there- 
in re  ue  ought  not  to  doubt  of  them. 
2  (  1cm.  11. 

PROPHETS,  PROPHECY. 

Thai  the  ancient  prophets  were  inspired 

by  Christ.      Barn.  5. 

The  gift  of  prophecy  still  in  the  church. 
Mart.  Polve.  5,  9,  12,  14.  Herm. 
Vis.  ii.  2,  3;  iii.  9;  iv. 

PROVIDENCE. 

Cod's  providence  ordered)  all  things. 
/Wye.  Mart.  2. 

PUNISHMENT. 

The  punishment  of  sinners  in  the  other 
world  shall  he  eternal.  Mart.  /Wye. 
2,  11.     2  (  lem.  6,  7. 


RELICS. 

What  respect  the  ancient  Christians 
paid  to  the  remains  fit'  their  martyrs. 
Mart.  Ignat.  12.  Mart.  Tolyc.  17, 
18. 

REPENTANCE. 

God  allows  repentance  to  sinners.  Clem. 

7,  8.      I/irm.  Sim.  vi.  .'5.  &c  viii.  6. 

ix.  33. 
Apostates  only  excepted.  Set  Apostates. 
The  lime  oi  repentance.     Herm.   Cm. 

iii.  5. 
No  repentance  after  death,    limn.  Sim. 

vi.  -j.  fee.     -J  (  Inn.  B. 
The  benefit  of  repentance  purchased  fur 

us  by  Christ.      < '.'/ './.  ?. 

Men  are  not  presently  pardoned  is  soon 

as  they  begin  to  rt  pent,  till  it  appears 
that      their     repentance      is      -Uicerc. 

Herm,  Sim.  vii. 

HOW    there    is    but    one    repentai 

sins  committed  after  baptism.  Harm. 

(  'mn.  iv.  3. 

RESURRECTION. 

That    there    should    he    a    future    r.  sur- 

r.  ctinu.     Clem.  84,  85,  86.     l'nlyc.2. 
(gnat  Trail.  9. 
W  i    ah  ill   rise   in   the    asms    b 
B  Ckm,  :'.     Set  Boor. 


INDEX. 


299 


RICHES. 

The  danger  of  riches :  What  use  we 

ought  to  make  of  them.     Herm.  Vis. 

iii.  6.     Sim.  1. 
The  rich  blessed  through  the  prayers  of 

the  poor  whom  they  relieve.     Herm. 

Sim.  ii. 

RULE. 

Particular  rules  of  life.  Clem.  21,  30, 
35.     Polyc.  Epist.  2.     Barn.  19. 

SACRAMENT. 

The  holy  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper  not  to  be  administered 
but  by  the  bishop,  or  him  whom  the 
bishop  appoints.     Ignat.  Smyrn.  8. 

That  which  is  broken,  and  received  in 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper, 
bread.  Ignat.  Ephes.  5,  20.  Lump. 
Smyrn.  7. 

SADNESS. 
The  mischief  of  it.     Herm.  Com.  x.  1. 

SALVATION. 

Who  are  saved  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 

Clem.  12. 
God  desires  that  all  Christians  should 

be  saved.     Herm.  Sim.  viii.  2. 
So  should  all  good  Christians.     Mart. 

Polyc.  1. 
No  man  can  be  saved  without  piety. 

2  C'em.  6. 
An  exhortation  to  strive  for  salvation. 

2  Clem.  7. 
We  are  saved  by  grace,  not  by  works. 

Polyc.  1. 

SCANDAL. 

We  must  not  give  scandal  to  the  ene- 
mies of  our  religion.     Ignat.  Trail.  8. 

SCHISM. 

The   danger   of  it.     Ignat.   Ephes.    5. 

Rom.  3.     Trail.  7.     Phil.  3. 
Exhortations  against  it.     Clem.  46. 

SCRIPTURE. 

The  Holy  Scriptures  written  by  Divine 
inspiration.     Clem.  45. 

SEDITION. 

Against  strife  and  sedition  of  the  people 
against  their  bishops  and  ministers. 
Clem.  46,  47. 


SIN. 

We  must  answer  to  God  for  the  sins  of 

those  who   belong  unto  us.     Herm. 

Vis.  i.  3 ;  ii.  2,  3.     Sim.  vii. 
That  we  ought  not  to  be  partakers  of 

other   men's   sins.     Herm.   Com.   ii. 

iv.  1. 

SPEECH. 

Against  evil  speaking.     Herm.  Com.  ii. 
We  must  not  give  countenance  to  those 

who   speak   evil    of  others.     Herm. 

Com.  ii. 

SPIRIT. 

The  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  first  created. 
Herm.  Sim.  vi.  6. 


SUFFER. 

Christ  supports  all  such  as  suffer  for 

him.     Mart.  Polyc.  2. 
Exhortation  to  suffer  for  Christ.   Ignat. 

Rom.     Polyc.  2,  3. 

THOUGHT. 

The  sinfulness  of  wicked  or  filthy 
thoughts.  Herm.  Vis.  i.  1,  2.  Com. 
iv 

TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

Against  it.  Ignat.  Ephes.  3,  20.  Com- 
pare Ignat.  Smyrn.  7. 

TRINITY. 

Proved.  Mart.  Ignat.  15.  Mart.  Polye. 
14. 

VIRGINITY. 

To  be  continued  in  without  boasting. 
Ignat.  Polyc.  5. 

UNITY,  see  Peace. 

Unity  with  the  bishop  the  best  means 
to  secure  us  against  falling  into 
heresy.   Ignat.  Phil.  2, 2,  7.    Trail.  7. 

Exhortations  to  peace  and  unity.  Clem. 
24,  25.  Ignat.  Ephes.  4.  Magnes. 
5,  7.     PhUad.  4,  7.     Polyc.  1. 


WAY. 

There  are   two  ways :  of  life,  and  of 

death.     Darn.  18. 
How  we  may  go  in  the  way  of  lifa. 

Barn.  19. 
What  is  the  way  of  death.     Herm.  20. 


300 


INDEX 


WORLD. 

We  live  in  this  world  as  in  a  pilrrTimarrr. 

I/erm.  Sim.  iii.  1. 
W(!  cannot  srrvc   this   world   and    the 

next    9  (  -  '•  •>. 

The    pood    and   bad   not  to  be    distin- 
guished in  this  world.     Herm, 
iii.     But  they  shall  be  in  the  other. 
Herm.  Sim.  iv. 


WORSHIP. 

Appointed    times    of    public    worship. 
Clem.  40,  41. 

Appointed  persons  for  the  performing 
of  it.     Clem.  40,  42. 

Settled  by  the  apostles.     Clem.  42,  44. 


THE  END. 


Date  Due 

LAr    «-»  ,-»     .-tfi 

0  26  42 

id  1 

- 

***»»w 

ts^< 

S. 

,MAR 

fi  i  1996 

9 

